Surge in Renewable Diesel to Drive US Biofuels Industry

The US biofuels industry is expected to see a period of growth and transition due to a recent surge in renewable diesel, World Grain reported citing CoBank’s Knowledge Exchange report.  “The outlook for biofuels is favorable as the US and other leading developed countries embrace renewable liquid transportation fuels as a solution to greenhouse gas emissions,” said Kenneth Scott Zuckerberg, lead grain and farm supply economist for CoBank.
As major companies like ADM and Marathon Petroleum Corp. have begun embracing renewable diesel, US production is expected to increase exponentially. Several industry stakeholders have announced plans for new soybean crush and refinery facilities over the last two years.  Soybean oil is the feedstock most used for producing renewable diesel.  Combined, the proposed crush and refinery projects would increase US renewable diesel production capacity six-fold by 2030 to 6.5 billion gallons annually, the report said.
CoBank estimates the US soybean acreage would need to increase 17.9 million acres to fill the supply gap created by the additional crush and refinery projects that have been announced.  The US also would need to stop exporting whole soybeans. Alternatives to massive shift of acres from corn to soybeans would include growing other oilseeds like canola and sunflower on a large scale, importing other vegetable oils, or using other feedstock such as beef tallow to produce renewable diesel fuel.