Minnesota's new 2% biodiesel mandate has gone into effect. From today forward, all petroleum diesel sold in the state must contain 2% biodiesel.
BELLINGHAM, Washington — Minnesota's new 2% biodiesel mandate has gone into effect. From today forward, all petroleum diesel sold in the state must contain 2% biodiesel.
Minnesota is the first state to require biodiesel inclusion in pump fuel, but several state governments, including Washington, have biodiesel use mandates for their state vehicle fleets. Biodiesel is now comparable in price to petroleum diesel in many geographic areas making it a tangible alternative as low oil supplies drive market prices. States such as Washington, Illinois and Oregon have passed tax sales tax breaks for distributors and retailers.
.President George W. Bush recently signed a new energy bill, passed by the senate, which included tax breaks for biodiesel. In a speech given at a biodiesel production facility, President Bush referred to Biodiesel as, "a strategic resource which we must cultivate".
Many multinational companies such as Archer Daniels Midland, and Procter & Gamble, are currently producing biodiesel. In 2004, 35 plants made about 80 million gallons of biodiesel in the United States. Most of these facilities are smaller producers of between 1-5 million gallons of production annually. The US Agriculture Department predicts that volume will grow to 124 million gallons or more this year.
Major companies worldwide are preparing new divisions to provide specialty chemicals to the biodiesel market. BASF has formed a new group to provide sodium methylate and Methanex, the largest methanol producer in the world, is supplying methanol to the industry. Bunge Corporation, is a leading supplier of feedstock to biodiesel manufacturers.
Chemical Consortium Holdings, Inc., announced that its planned biodiesel facility in SW Washington will be the first large scale biodiesel facility on the west coast. The facility which is in pre-engineering will produce 100,000 tons or roughly 30 million gallons of biodiesel annually. The facility will bring proven processes and technology from Europe to the US. The European market is 10 years ahead of the US market in biodiesel production.
Chemical Consortium Holdings, Inc. (ChemCon) is a holding company for alternative fuel manufacturing assets. ChemCon is currently developing a biodiesel and ethanol production facility in SW Washington State. The four stage facility will produce biodiesel and ethanol. Stage one is currently in engineering and is scheduled to begin Engineering Procurement Contracting (EPC) in November 2005. Construction of stage one is tentatively scheduled to begin in March of 2006. Stage one of the facility is slated to produce up to 30 million gallons of biodiesel annually.
Source: Chemical Consortium Holdings, Inc.
