A strong Renewable Fuels Standard that sees 2 billion gallons of biodiesel production would mean about 66,600 jobs for the U.S. biodiesel industry. But a weak RFS, producing just 1.28 billion gallons of the green fuel as a leaked EPA proposal would call for, means losing about 8,000 of those jobs. This news release from the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) says that’s a lot of paychecks as the current record pace of 1.7 billion gallons this year supports more than 62,000 jobs and $2.6 billion in wages.
“This is further evidence that a growing biodiesel industry and a strong Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) are good for the economy,” said Anne Steckel, vice president of federal affairs at the National Biodiesel Board (NBB). “Biodiesel is a true RFS success story, and we should continue that momentum next year with modest growth that will create even more jobs.”
Biodiesel is made from an increasingly diverse mix of resources such as recycled cooking oil, agricultural oils and animal fats. The study, which can be found here, found that employment supported by the industry would drop by almost 8,000 jobs if the EPA were to limit production to 1.28 billion gallons, the volume proposal included in a recently leaked EPA document outlining potential RFS standards next year.
“The negative impact of that proposal is clear – it would force biodiesel plants to close and put people out of work,” Steckel said. “The EPA and the Obama Administration can avoid that by supporting a strong 2014 standard that is at least consistent with this year’s production.”
LMC International, a global economic research firm, did the study on behalf of NBB.