A new report from CoBank says the recent investment surge in U.S. renewable diesel production capacity is likely to ignite a period of growth and transition for the biofuels industry.
“The outlook for biofuels is good as the U.S. and other developed countries embrace renewable liquid transportation fuels as a solution to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” says Ken Zuckerberg, lead grain and farm supply economist for CoBank.
“Renewable diesel offers the most intriguing opportunity in the biofuels space because the growth potential is extraordinary.”
Several industry stakeholders are planning to build new soybean crush and refineries during the next two years, which would increase U.S. renewable diesel production capacity to 6.5 billion gallons by 2030.
Soybean oil is the most common feedstock for producing renewable diesel. CoBank says U.S. soybean acreage would need to grow by 17.9 million acres to fill the supply gap created by the additional crush and refinery projects.
