Commercial Biodiesel Production Falls to 2006 Levels
National Biodiesel Industry Urges Timely Implementation of Renewable Fuels Standard

JEFFERSON CITY, MO. – Joe Jobe, CEO of the National Biodiesel Board, issued the following statement after a review of recent and projected U.S. biodiesel volumes for 2009:

“America is at risk of going backwards in energy security. A review of the March biodiesel production numbers shows commercial biodiesel production fell to 30 million gallons. If this continues, it will reduce industry production to half of the 700 million gallons produced in 2008.

“A primary reason for this dramatic downturn is the absence of the federal Renewable Fuels Standard. The RFS would initially require the use of 500 million gallons of bio-massed based diesel, which would substantially stabilize the young biodiesel industry as it struggles to compete on an uneven playing field.

“We are at risk of losing the only domestically produced homegrown fuel for diesel engines. In fact, biodiesel is the only commercially available advanced biofuel, as defined by the federal government, which is currently derived from any fat or plant oil. It is the most diverse fuel on the planet. At last count, 176 plants in the U.S. enabled production of almost 2 billion gallons of homegrown, renewable fuel per year, but many plants sit idle, and at least 20 have gone out of business. This costs jobs and increases America’s dependence on foreign oil at a time when President Obama is calling for economic investment in American renewable energy. Our industry stands ready and waiting to answer that call.

“We again urge the Environmental Protection Agency to implement the RFS program as enacted by Congress that will help the industry fulfill the promise of energy security, a green economy and cleaner air.”

# # #