Biofuel production in the USA slowed down in 2024, with output increasing by a modest 3% from the start of 2024 to the beginning of 2025, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA)’s latest biofuels production capacity reports.
A reduction in the production of renewable diesel and other biofuels – comprising sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), renewable naphtha and renewable propane – accounted for most of the slowdown in growth, the EIA said on 27 October.
Renewable diesel and other biofuels production capacity increased by 391M gallons (1.48bn litres)/year in 2024, less than one-third of the growth in 2022 and 2023.
In 2024, only two capacity additions came online, both in California: Phillips 66’s conversion of its Rodeo refinery to produce exclusively biofuels and the new Renewable Fuels LLC plant in Bakersfield, the report said.
Following its completed conversion, the Rodeo plant had a capacity of 767M gallons (2.9bn litres)/year, up from 180M gallons (681M litres)/year in the EIA’s report last year.
The increase made it the second-largest renewable diesel plant in the USA, after Diamond Green Diesel’s 982M gallons (3.7bn litres)/year plant in Norco, Louisiana.
US capacity growth from the Rodeo expansion and the 138M gallons (522M litres)/year Bakersfield plant was partially offset by the loss of capacity at four facilities, according to the report.
Monroe Energy and Chevron stopped co-processing renewable diesel at their Trainer, Pennsylvania, and El Segundo, California, refineries, respectively, while Vertex Energy and Jaxon Energy closed plants in Mobile, Alabama, and Jackson, Mississippi, respectively.
“The loss of renewable diesel capacity at four facilities reflects changes to biofuel margins and petroleum refining margins since 2020,” the EIA said.
Low refinery margins and rising biofuel credit values in 2020 and 2021 prompted a wave of renewable diesel capacity announcements.
However, with more plants becoming operational, biofuel production started to exceed target volumes, and biofuel credit values and margins decreased in 2023, the EIA added.
“At the same time, petroleum refinery margins were much stronger than their 2020 lows, resulting in a slowdown in investments to expand renewable diesel capacity for the upcoming years.”
A notable shift in 2024 was an increased focus on SAF, the report said.
Following the completion of conversion projects in 2024, Phillips 66’s Rodeo plant could switch around 150M gallons (568M litres)/year of its renewable diesel production capacity to SAF, and Diamond Green Diesel could switch about 235M gallons (890M litres)/year to SAF.
In addition to slower growth in renewable diesel production capacity, biodiesel production capacity decreased slightly. In 2024, eight biodiesel plants closed due to poor margins, leading to a loss of about 100M gallons (379M litres)/year of production capacity.
