A land of opportunity?

California is becoming increasingly important for the biofuels industry. The state’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) is designed to encourage the use of cleaner, low carbon fuels. Biodiesel in particular stands to be a significant beneficiary, being one of the lowest cost compliance options for the standard. As a result, more and more producers are turning their attention to the Golden State. Here, Biofuels International speaks with Shelby Neal from the US National Biodiesel Board (NBB), and Western Iowa Energy / Agron Bioenergy’s president Brad Wilson, about the impact of the LCFS.

“California is a big market that’s growing significantly. The market for biomass-based diesel has grown from about 14 million gallons annually in 2011 to more than 500 million today.  CARB models suggest it could be 1.5 billion by 2025,” the NBB’s director of State Governmental Affairs, Shelby Neal, reveals.

“You can see that there is huge growth, which is obviously positive. But in addition to that, there are carbon credits that the obligated parties have to accrue and can be traded and sold. So there’s also...