Oregon implements B5 mandate

Since July 2007, most diesel sold in the Oregon, US-based city of Portland has been blended with 5% biodiesel (B5), and now the rest of the state is catching on.

Oregon has now become the second US state to enforce the B5 mandate, after Minnesota, which first implemented a B2 biodiesel requirement, before this was ramped up to B5. Now Minnesota is reported to be further increasing the blend to B10 by 2012, before passing a B20 requirement by 2015.

Oregon implemented its B2 mandate in 2009, however an increase in demand saw biodiesel production reach 15 million gallons and so the blend was increased. This will see the demand for biodiesel rise to an estimated 25 million gallons a year.

The National Biodiesel Board (NBB) praised Oregon on its most recent move. 'Policymakers in Oregon should be congratulated for displaying national leadership on clean energy issues,' says the regulatory affairs director of the NBB Shelby Neal. 'As a result of the biodiesel policy, Oregon's citizens will enjoy cleaner air, green jobs, and a higher level of energy independence.'

Also speaking about the new B5 mandate, which was introduced on 1 April 2011, Rick Wallace, a senior policy analyst at the Oregon Department of Energy and the clean cities coordinator of the Columbia-Willamette Clean Cities Coalition, comments: 'Increasing the use of domestically produced low-carbon fuels like biodiesel is a win-win for Oregon. We're supporting the local economy while reducing pollution, rather than relying entirely on fossil fuels to power our state.'

In addition to Minnesota and Oregon, Washington and Pennsylvania both have implemented a B2 mandate.

350 million gallons of the biofuel was produced in the US in 2010.

'A combination of poor economics and lapse in federal support resulted in the low production but we are projecting around 800 million gallons of nationwide production this year,' says Kaleb Little of the NBB.

 

Image source: Science Photo Library