The National Biodiesel Board (NBB) said it is confident the industry can meet renewable fuel requirements for 2009 that are not filled by the domestic ethanol industry.
According to NBB, 10.5 billion gallons of renewable fuel must be entered into commerce in 2009. In 2008, the US biodiesel industry produced nearly 700 million gallons of biodiesel, which equates to 1.05 billion ethanol equivalent gallons for purposes of the federal requirements.
Currently, there are 176 plants in operation with the capacity to produce more than 2.61 billion gallons of biodiesel.