Iowa bio-diesel production in this year’s second quarter reached a record high. Monte Shaw, executive director of the Iowa Renewable Fuel Association, says nine plants in the state produced nearly 57-million gallons of biodiesel in three months.
“That puts us on pace to be over 200-million gallons of production for the year in Iowa alone,” Shaw says. “That quarter was a record. It narrowly beat the previous record from a year ago in the same quarter.” Shaw says a combination of factors are responsible for the record biodiesel production.
Shaw says, “The federal Renewable Fuel Standard and the Biodiesel Tax Credit have combined to really help biodiesel be very competitive in the face of the advantages that the oil industry has.” He says the R-F-S and the tax credit are giving the renewable fuel a solid means to compete with big oil.
“They have their tax credits, they have their programs,” Shaw says, “and so really, we’ve been able to level the playing field and let the value of biodiesel flow through to the consumer.” Shaw says biodiesel production boosts farmers’ incomes by increasing the value of soybeans, lowers fuel costs and raises the value of animal fats for the state’s livestock producers.
By Jerry Oster, WNAX, Yankton