News that biodiesel set new volume records in 2015 set the stage Monday for the 2016 National Biodiesel Conference and Expo in Tampa, Florida.
According to new EPA data, consumers used a record of nearly 2.1 billion gallons of biodiesel last year, demonstrating biodiesel’s rising popularity and its success as the first EPA-designated advanced biofuel to reach commercial-scale production nationwide.
“We just came through a two and a half year period of very difficult struggle because of the EPA’s delay in issuing the rule-making on the Renewable Fuel Standard,” said National Biodiesel Board CEO Joe Jobe. “We’re positioned to break a record again in 2016.”
The theme of the biodiesel industry’s 13th annual conference this year is Coast to Coast, which Jobe says reflects the diversity of the fuel. “That diversity gives us a certain amount of strength in terms of our policy and how we utilize very diversified regionally abundant feedstocks,” said Jobe.
The conference really gets underway Tuesday morning when the Expo hall opens and Jobe will lead the opening general session with his state of the industry address. Keep track of all the conference activities on the Biodiesel Conference Blog – and you can also look back on the past 10 years of biodiesel conferences archived there as well.
Listen to my interview with Joe here: 2016 Biodiesel Conference preview with NBB CEO Joe Jobe