Nearly 100 members of the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) are in Washington, D.C., to participate in their biannual fly-in to the Nation’s Capital. NBB members plan to storm the Hill to encourage reinstatement of the biodiesel tax credit, which expired in December 2016.
In meetings with their elected officials, NBB members can share firsthand their experiences of operating in such an unstable business environment where the intermittent nature of the credit stymies investments. Additionally, NBB members will discuss the results of a new survey conducted with 1000 registered voters nationwide. The survey found that 82 percent of registered voters support a federal tax incentive. The same percentage of people polled expressed support for a national Renewable Fuel Standard.
“This fly-in couldn’t come at a better time, given the many federal policy priorities affecting the biodiesel industry. With the RFS volumes expected this week, reinstating the biodiesel tax credit is the next big policy issue we need to tackle to stabilize the business environment in which our industry is forced to operate,” said Doug Whitehead, chief operating officer of the National Biodiesel Board.
Since the July proposal was released, NBB has repeatedly called for growth in the volumes. Investors are unwilling to expand capacity if there’s no signal of growth in the program. The July proposal offered up a reduction in advanced biofuels (of which biodiesel fills roughly 90 percent) and a flatline of biomass-based diesel—neither being growth.
In a recent letter to the president, NBB’s governing board members reiterated the association’s ask of at least 4.75 billion gallons for advanced biofuels for 2018 and at least 2.5 billion gallons for biomass-based diesel for 2019. The governing board includes members from a diverse group of states: Arkansas, California, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.
