Along with their sister biofuel ethanol, the biodiesel diesel industry is congratulating President-Elect Donald Trump who is set to become America’s 45th President.
National Biodiesel Board CEO Donnell Rehagen issued the following statement.
“The National Biodiesel Board congratulates our newly elected and returning leaders and looks forward to working them to promote local jobs, energy security and clean air through a growing biodiesel market. Biodiesel has long been a bi-partisan issue and we are confident our new Congress will continue to support a smart solution that works for America on so many levels. President Elect Trump has expressed strong support for biofuels and support for the RFS, so we are hopeful his administration will further strengthen opportunities for America’s advanced biofuel. By the time he takes office we hope that the EPA will have announced biodiesel volumes that more closely reflect fuel availability and current production and that the critical biodiesel tax incentive will be extended and reformed to a production credit to ensure that American jobs are not put at risk yet again due to Congress’s inaction.”
Iowa is the nation’s leading biodiesel producing state and its state association, the Iowa Biodiesel Board (IBB) also issued remarks following the election. IBB Executive Director Grant Kimberley stated, “We welcome the opportunity to work with a new Administration in the White House, and appreciate the positive statements about biodiesel that President-elect Donald Trump made on the campaign trail. We are optimistic that he will support policies imperative to the growth of biodiesel, including the federal Renewable Fuel Standard, one of the most effective policies in history to diversify America’s fuel supply. The federal tax incentive for biodiesel is also critical to help us compete against petroleum, which had more than a hundred-year start on biodiesel. Nowhere is the impact of these policies more evident than in Iowa. In 2015, Iowa’s 12 operating biodiesel plants produced a record 242 million gallons of biodiesel.”
Also of note in Iowa, Chuck Grassley was re-elected to the U.S. Senate while Reps. Rod Blum, David Young, Dave Loebsack and Steve King were re-elected to the U.S. House. Kimberly said of these results, “We congratulate our entire Congressional delegation from Iowa on their victories last night, and thank them for their continued leadership in fostering the inclusion of American-made biodiesel in our nation’s energy supply. Our state owes these Congressional leaders gratitude for fighting time and again to give biodiesel the place at the table it deserves. Biodiesel is a critical piece of our nation’s ambitions for energy security, Greenhouse Gas reduction and economic development.”
Moving forward, Kimberly said the main goal of the organization is to ensure the Biodiesel Tax Credit is extended for a number of years. “Our immediate priority is to extend the current $1 per gallon tax credit for biodiesel, but also restructure the incentive from a blender’s credit to a producer’s credit,” said Kimberly. This is vital because the current structure allows foreign biodiesel producers to take advantage of the credit if their fuel is blended in the U.S. – not the original intent of Congress. We look forward to the time ahead as we work to secure biodiesel’s future.“
