Despite increased demand for biodiesel, makers of the green fuel are having a tougher time making a profit.
This article from Reuters says sales of American biodiesel tripled last year to about 250 million gallons and will go even higher next year. But the success has been a double-edged sword:
[T]he sales jumps have had the side effect of helping to spike prices for soyoil, the main U.S. biodiesel feedstock, to nearly 33-year highs. Plants that make biodiesel are running well below capacity because of rising costs.
“As a general rule, margins for making biodiesel are pretty tight now,” Jenna Higgins, a spokeswoman for the (National Biodiesel Board), said in an interview.
Higgins said some producers were making negative margins, but that the soyoil boom could be followed by a bust cycle that could help profits in the future.
The article goes on to say that biodiesel’s link to petroleum (that helps plant and harvest the feedstock soybeans and the energy used to get the product to market) and its record-high prices are not helping the situation. But officials are optimistic that a new pipeline system that can handle biodiesel will be built and more affordable feedstocks will be found.
The Colorado ski resorts of Aspen and Vail are known for their great snow and trendy ways, and biodiesel producers are hoping they’ll continue a green trend one of then has been practicing… using biodiesel.
“You’d love to see them do it,” said Matt Scherr of the Eagle Valley Alliance for Sustainability.
Consumers have the chance to fuel up on E85 for $1.85. The ZX snack shop in Kirkwood, Missouri is hosting a grand opening for its first E85 fuel pump. The celebration will begin Thursday, at 8:30 a.m. and will continue until 4:00 p.m at 10921 Manchester Rd.
The 
The president of the American Council on Renewable Energy believes the recent growth in renewable energy markets is just the beginning of sustained growth that will increase the renewable energy business by 10 times.
“The growth of renewable energy means jobs and economic growth in every Congressional district,” said Mr. Eckhart November 8 at the Cleantech Investing on the Pacific Northwest conference hosted by the Stoel Rives law firm and Nth Power venture capital firm. “And members of Congress are beginning to see it. The major job creators in Germany in the past three years have been the wind and solar industries. We can have those jobs, too.”
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The 39.5-kilowatt wind turbine will generate enough energy to run the building, plus 20 additional kilowatts per month that could be sold back, said Pete Sand, co-chairman of the Sustainable Campus Committee that distributes green fee money.
The rising cost of soybean byproducts forced North Prairie Productions to temporarily suspend construction on its biodiesel plant in Evansville, President Mike Robinson said.
“We always knew there’d be times when markets are good and markets are bad,” he said. “You’re most vulnerable as a company when you start, and you don’t want to start when times are bad. We just wanted make sure that we are secure when we enter the market.”
Tyson and Tulsa, Oklahoma-based Syntroleum have formed a company called Dynamic Fuels that will make jet fuel out of animal fat.