Renewable diesel and production of other biofuels in the USA totalled 3bn gallons (11.35bn litres)/year, according to latest data published by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).
Reached in January, the recorded volume meant that renewable diesel/biofuel production overtook biodiesel output in the USA for the first time, the 5 September report said.
“Rising targets for state and federal renewable fuel programmes and the renewal of biomass-based diesel tax credits are driving this growth in US renewable diesel capacity,” the EIA said.
The EIA said it started collecting data on US renewable diesel and other biofuels in 2021 and, since then, capacity had more than tripled in the USA while biodiesel capacity had declined by 13%.
On a nationwide basis, overall biofuels production capacity – including renewable diesel, biodiesel, ethanol and other biofuels – totalled 23bn gallons (87bn litres)/year in January 2023, a 6% increase in total production capacity compared to the previous year.
Fuel ethanol accounted for 78% of US biofuel production capacity, renewable diesel and other biofuels accounted for 13%, and biodiesel accounted for 9%, the report said.
US capacity for producing renewable diesel and other biofuels increased by 1.25bn gallons (4.7bn litres)/year from January 2022-January 2023, a 71% increase compared to the previous year.
As of January, 11 states reported sites with renewable diesel and other biofuels production capacity, up from six states in 2022.
Texas, which had no renewable diesel/biofuels capacity in January 2022, was an example of a state with new and growing capacity. By January 2023, Texas had 537M gallons (2bn litres)/year of capacity, the second highest after Louisiana.
Unlike ethanol and biodiesel, where states in the Midwest held most of the national capacity, more than 60% of US renewable diesel and other biofuels production capacity was on the Gulf Coast, the EIA said.
At 2.1bn gallons (7.9bn litres)/year in January, biodiesel accounts for the smallest share of US biofuels capacity among the three categories tracked by the EIA.
Biodiesel capacity declined by 169M gallons (639M litres)/year from January 2022-January 2023. The Midwest has 70% of US biodiesel capacity, primarily in Iowa, Missouri, Illinois and Indiana.
