Hawaii Governor signs renewable fuels production tax credit

Pacific Biodiesel president Robert King has attended the formal signing by Hawaii’s Governor David Ige of the Renewable Fuels Production Tax Credit, a long-awaited incentive for biofuels producers in the state.

This move supports Hawaii’s commitment to generate 100% of its electricity from renewable energy resources by 2045.

Hawaii State Act 202 is a non-refundable tax credit for the production of renewable fuels, including biodiesel, which will be in effect for five years. The annual dollar amount of the tax credit is equal to twenty cents per 76,000 British Thermal Unit (BTUs) of renewable fuel (the equivalent of one gallon of ethanol). The tax credit is capped at $3 million (€2.7m) per year.

“This is an excellent incentive because it will encourage investors to fund renewable fuel production facilities in Hawaii, creating jobs and energy security while fighting climate change and reducing environmental damage,” King said. 

He added: “We’ve been diligently working for the past six years to help pass this legislation.”

Pacific Biodiesel is the nation’s first sustainable biodiesel producer certified by the Sustainable Biodiesel Alliance and Hawaii’s only commercial biofuel producer.

The company has built 13 biodiesel plants in the US and Japan and its community-based biodiesel model has become a standard for the sustainable renewable fuel industry here in Hawaii and globally.

With a nameplate production capacity of 5.5 million gallons annually, the Pacific Biodiesel refinery on Hawaii Island utilises state-of-the art distillation technology to produce biodiesel in the country.