Groups applaud Senate bill to extend biodiesel tax credit
NATSO, representing America’s travel centers and truck stops, SIGMA: America’s Leading Fuel Marketers, the American Trucking Associations, National Association of Convenience Stores, the Sustainable Advanced Biofuel Refiners Coalition and the National Energy & Fuels Institute commended a group of Republican senators for introducing the Biodiesel Tax Credit Extension Act of 2024, which would extend the biodiesel blenders tax credit through 2025.
S. 5582 is a companion to H.R. 9060, the Biodiesel Tax Credit Extension Act of 2024, introduced earlier this year by Reps. Mike Carey, R-Ohio, and Ann Kuster, D-New Hampshire.
H.R. 9060 has widespread bipartisan support in the House of Representatives.
The Biodiesel Tax Credit Extension Act of 2024 would extend the biodiesel tax credit for one year at the blender level.
Extending the blenders credit would immediately incentivize fuel retailers nationwide to buy and blend more gallons of biodiesel, which is better for the environment than petroleum diesel.
Uncertainty about the tax status of biodiesel currently is creating risks for the future of that market.
An extension of the current blenders tax credit is needed to address this uncertainty.
Since 2005, the biodiesel tax credit has effectively incentivized fuel retailers to invest in the necessary infrastructure to sell low-carbon alternative fuels while encouraging consumers to buy renewable fuel blends because of their lower cost.
“We are grateful to Sens. Tillis, Ernst, Fischer, Grassley and Ricketts for their leadership and are eager to help them build on the support this legislation already enjoys,” said David Fialkov, executive director of government affairs for NATSO and SIGMA. “The biodiesel tax credit has spurred private investment in lower-emission fuels for the transportation sector while also lowering costs for consumers. Ensuring that the transportation sector can access renewable diesel and biodiesel allows it to take advantage of economically viable solutions while lowering emissions today. We look forward to working with all senators to move this legislation over the finish line.”
Doug Kantor with NACS said, “This legislation is key to the future of advanced renewable fuels. We applaud Sens. Tillis, Fischer, Grassley, Ernst and Ricketts for recognizing the critical role that renewable diesel and biodiesel play in reducing fuel costs for consumers by supporting an extension of the biodiesel blenders tax credit. We urge the full Senate to extend this successful policy as soon as possible.”
Biodiesel historically has been the most widely consumed biofuel for use in commercial trucking and represents the best opportunity to reduce carbon emissions from the nation’s commercial trucking fleet for the foreseeable future, according to NATSO.
It is also widely used to heat homes.
The biodiesel tax credit lowers the price that truck drivers pay for diesel fuel, which in turn lowers the cost of shipping and therefore the price consumers pay for products that are moved by truck.
Extending the biodiesel tax credit will safeguard the ability of motor carriers to reduce carbon emissions in the nation’s existing commercial fleets while lowering fuel prices and the cost of goods for consumers.
“To get to zero emissions, we need more technology-neutral solutions in the immediate term, including alternative fuels like biodiesel and renewable diesel,” said Henry Hanscom, senior vice president of legislative affairs for the American Trucking Associations. “This legislation would expand access to these low-carbon, proven energy sources and dramatically reduce our environmental impact.”
SABR CEO Joe Jobe said, “Sustainable Advanced Biofuel Refiners applauds the leadership of these senators to extend 40A. SABR has been a consistent supporter of the 40A extension to help support U.S. farmers and crushers, U.S. biodiesel producers and U.S. truck-stop operators as we navigate this interim period while we work with Congress to correct flaws in new tax credits scheduled to take effect in 2025.”
NEFI President and CEO Jim Collura added, “The National Energy & Fuels Institute applauds the introduction of the Biodiesel Tax Credit Extension Act of 2024. The BTC has been crucial in supporting the heating-oil industry’s transition to renewable liquid heating fuels, which offer an immediate, cost-effective and equitable path to carbon reduction for the 5 million American homes it serves. The introduction of this bill is a vital step in ensuring a stable supply of renewable liquid heating fuels in the broader Northeast, where 90 percent of home-heating oil is used. Extending the BTC will provide much-needed certainty for our mostly small, family-owned and operated heating-fuel businesses and their consumers and keep us moving forward—not backward—in the ongoing effort to reduce building emissions.”
The biodiesel tax credit has helped build a robust renewable diesel industry in the United States while decreasing carbon emissions associated with transportation fuel.
The U.S. biodiesel and renewable diesel market has grown to approximately 4 billion gallons in 2023, a 40-fold increase from roughly 100 million gallons in 2005.
Biodiesel and renewable diesel eliminated 15 million metric tons of CO2 in California alone in 2020, the equivalent of taking more than 3 million passenger cars off the roads.
Compared with petroleum-based diesel, renewable diesel and biodiesel reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by up to 80 percent.
The California Air Resources Board recently underscored their important role in reducing carbon emissions, announcing that renewable diesel and biodiesel constitute more than half of the diesel supply in California.
