Fuel retailers applaud Rep. Carey’s letter urging US House members to support extension of biodiesel tax credit

NATSO, representing America’s travel centers and truck stops, SIGMA: America’s Leading Fuel Marketers and the National Association of Convenience Stores applauded Rep. Mike Carey, R-Ohio, for leading a “Dear Colleague” letter urging all members of the House of Representatives to cosponsor H.R. 9060, legislation that would extend the biodiesel blenders tax credit for one year.

Since its introduction in 2004, the biodiesel blenders tax credit has successfully motivated retailers to invest in infrastructure needed to support low-carbon fuel options, while also making renewable fuel blends more affordable for consumers.

The biodiesel tax credit helps to create jobs, enhance energy security, lower the transportation sector’s greenhouse-gas emissions and enables fuel retailers to offer more competitively priced diesel fuel.

“The biodiesel industry is going through extraordinarily challenging times,” said David Fialkov, the executive vice president of government affairs for NATSO and SIGMA. “Biodiesel companies that fuel retailers and truck stops have been working with for decades are laying off workers, idling plants and declaring bankruptcy. No one is producing, no one is buying, no one is blending. It raises diesel prices, exacerbates inflation, and increases the carbon emissions from the transportation sector. Congress needs to extend the biodiesel blenders credit or there may not be a biodiesel industry next year. The time for wishful thinking has passed.”

The Inflation Reduction Act, which was signed into law by President Joe Biden after passing Congress on a purely partisan basis, created a new clean fuel production tax credit known as 45Z.

Despite repeated requests, the industry has not received guidance from the Biden administration regarding what the value of that credit will be for different fuels.

This uncertainty, combined with the scheduled expiration of the biodiesel blenders credit, is hurting not just biodiesel producers, fuel retailers and trucking companies, but the entire soy complex.

“Congressman Carey and this bipartisan, diverse group of cosponsors should be commended for their leadership,” said LeeAnn Goheen, the senior director of government affairs for NATSO and SIGMA. “These are some of the foremost energy thought leaders in Congress who support this bill. We share the desire to learn more about and improve the new 45Z tax credit, but it’s now mid-October and we still do not have guidance from the treasury department. Next year is poised to be a historic year in tax policy, and 45Z improvements need to be a part of that conversation.”

Doug Kantor, general counsel at NACS, added, “Tax incentives for biodiesel and renewable diesel blending have worked for nearly two decades to successfully extend the fuel supply and decrease carbon emissions from the fuel we sell. This legislation is key to supporting our industry’s continued investment in low-carbon alternative fuels.”

A diverse group of stakeholders supports H.R. 9060, including the American Trucking Associations, Energy Marketers of America, Illinois Soybean Growers, Iowa Biodiesel Board, Kentucky Soybean Association, Mid Atlantic Soybean Association, Minnesota Soybean Growers Association, National Energy and Fuel Institute, Ohio Soy Association, Small Advanced Biofuel Refiners, and Truckload Carriers Association.

“We’re happy to be working with state soybean groups on this important policy,” Fialkov said. “Regardless of how 45Z is implemented, it will be a far less lucrative tax incentive for soy-based biofuels. The transition to 45Z need not leave behind the very industry that 45Z is intended to support.”

Biodiesel and renewable diesel have historically been the most widely used biofuels in commercial trucking and remain the most viable option for reducing carbon emissions from the nation’s trucking, home-heating oil and rail industries in the near term.

The biodiesel tax credit directly lowers the cost of diesel fuel for truck drivers, which in turn reduces shipping costs and helps lower the prices consumers pay for goods transported by truck.

Extending this tax credit would ensure that motor carriers can continue to cut carbon emissions within existing fleets while also keeping fuel prices and consumer costs down.

The biodiesel blenders tax credit has been instrumental in developing a strong renewable diesel industry in the United States, driving significant growth in production.

The U.S. biodiesel and renewable diesel market expanded from approximately 100 million gallons in 2005 to around 4 billion gallons in 2023, all while contributing to lower transportation-related carbon emissions.