Agricultural Economic Insights’ Post

The use of #biodiesel and renewable diesel is forecasted to reduce harmful transportation-related emissions between 40% to 86% compared to petroleum diesel, depending on the feedstock used. However, biodiesel is most commonly used today in fuel blends up to 20% (B20), and there is not much information available on the properties of higher-level blends. Research to identify barriers preventing the use of biodiesel blends over 20%, along with strategies to overcome them, is captured in a new NREL report titled “Properties That Potentially Limit High-Level Blends of Biomass-Based Diesel Fuel.” The results showed that the challenge comes down to differences in fuel properties affecting engine function for biodiesel versus ultra-low-sulfur petroleum diesel or renewable diesel. Read the summary of the report by NREL’s Senior Research Fellow Bob McCormick in Biodiesel Magazine ➡️ https://bit.ly/41X4gqR #NRELMobility

Interesting. The EIA is now providing additional biofuel and distillate information and forecasts to provide more insight into how much biodiesel and renewable diesel is being blended in with petroleum distillate. https://lnkd.in/eZRbFQ6G

The U.S. Department of Energy has announced nearly USD $3 Billion in loans for biofuel projects. The first loan guarantee, amounting to approximately USD $1.44 billion, will assist facility expansion set to refine vegetable oils, fats, and greases into high-demand products like SAF, renewable diesel, and renewable naphtha. Once operational, the facility is expected to churn out about 315 million gallons per year of biofuels, primarily SAF. This output will account for 10% of the SAF Grand Challenge, which targets producing 3 billion gallons annually by 2030 as part of a broader effort to supply all U.S. aviation fuel needs with SAF by 2050. The second loan of up to USD $1.46 billion, has been allocated to an initiative that will focus on converting corn starch directly into jet fuel, incorporating carbon capture and renewable energy solutions. Find out more here: https://lnkd.in/d4pw7Sku

The video and slides are now available from my farmdoc webinar yesterday on the Outlook for Ethanol and SAF: https://lnkd.in/ggdx9zkn. I appreciate everyone who tuned in live and asked so many great questions! I did not have time to get to all of them (or maybe the truth is that I got a little tired at the 90-minute mark 😊). If you post questions in the comments below, I will do my best to answer those I missed, or any new ones for that matter. Also, don't forget to register for part II of the series covering the Outlook for Renewable Diesel and FAME Biodiesel. It will be held from 11AM to noon CST next Wednesday, December 11th. Here is the link for registration: https://lnkd.in/gQF-sFES. I am very excited for this second webinar. I am going to highlight the ongoing RIN cliff for renewable diesel, the resiliency of FAME biodiesel production, and what I believe should be the single most important policy objective for the entire US biofuel industry. Hope to see you there! #biofuels #ethanol #SAF #outlook #renewables #energy #RFS #corn #soybeans #agriculture

#Renewable #diesel glut hits US refiner profits, threatens nascent industry NEW YORK, May 13 (Reuters) - A rush by U.S. fuel makers to recalibrate their plants to produce renewable diesel has created a supply glut for low-emissions biofuels, hammering profit margins for refiners and threatening to impede a young industry. Turmoil in the biomass-based diesel sector, an umbrella term for renewable diesel and biodiesel, could become a roadblock to future investments in biofuels, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said this year. That could potentially stall the transition away from traditional fossil fuels. Some producers of these biofuels have already shuttered plants this year, and industry participants say more are set to go out of business before the year's end. U.S. renewable diesel production capacity nearly quadrupled following the coronavirus pandemic from just 791 million gallons a year in 2021 to 3 billion gallons by 2023, as refiners sought ways to survive the transition away from their petroleum-based products.

Fueling the Future: Corn Ethanol on the Rise! With renewable biodiesel demands projected to grow by 30%, India is set to produce 38 billion liters over the next five years Follow & stay informed about the shifts shaping our energy landscape! #Reglo #IndustryNews #RenewableEnergy #CornEthanol #GreenFuture #Biodiesel

What is E85 fuel? 🤔🌽 E85 fuel is a mixture of gasoline and ethanol. In the USA, it’s made from corn biomass, plant materials (primarily corn), and other renewable sources. There are several different types of flex fuel: #E85, E50, E15, and E10 are the most common. The E represents “ethanol”, and the numeric value represents the percentage of ethanol in the mixture. For example, E85 contains up to 85% ethanol, while E10 contains up to 10% ethanol. At 100+ OCTANE, E85 is the highest octane fuel on the market. Join the #E85Movement - Convert your vehicle with eFlexFuel (Run E85, Gas, or Any Blend!) eFlexFuel.com #eFlexFuel #renewableenergy #flexfuel #ethanol 

The final 45V rules include additional biogas and fugitive methane feedstocks for producing clean hydrogen under the IRA's hydrogen production tax credit. DOE's recently updated hydrogen emissions model (45VH2-GREET) gives even more details regarding how lifecycle emissions for those feedstocks will be determined, not just for hydrogen, but potentially for a range of other credits and programs as well. Read all about it in my latest post linked below! #hydrogen #energypolicy #RNG #biogas

The largest renewable diesel producer in Canada is weighing whether to idle its 18,000 b/d biorefinery before the end of the year, citing poor margins and uncertainty about US biofuels policy: https://lnkd.in/e-CvgC2x

Imports of biomass-based diesel—a category that includes both renewable diesel and biodiesel—have made up a larger-than-normal portion of U.S. consumption. In the first five months of 2024, imported biomass-based diesel supplied about 20% of U.S. biomass-based diesel consumption, compared with about 15% in 2023 and 10% in 2022. https://lnkd.in/gVdRs9FJ