House and Senate leaders received a joint letter from nine organizations this week to petition for the continuation of the current biodiesel blenders tax credit.
Biodiesel is a diverse selection of resources blended into fuel meant as a diesel replacement. It was also the first U.S. domestically produced and commercially viable biofuel. The biodiesel credit has fluctuated in recent years, creating an “on-again, off-again” credit system. The groups stress the pain this puts the industry through, disrupting funding and investment efforts.
“To provide certainty in planning, we believe Congress should extend the full $1.00 per gallon tax credit for 2018 and 2019,” the organizations wrote. “Beyond that, we are seeking long-term certainty, including a permanent tax incentive at a level that will continue to foster growth in the domestic biodiesel market.”
Since 2005, the biodiesel industry has grown to 2.6 billion gallons, and its growth has been aided by things like the trucking industry, for whom the tax credit helps reduce fuel cost.
The letter was signed by the National Biodiesel Board, Advanced Biofuels Association, American Trucking Associations, National Association of Convenience Stores, National Renders Association, NATSO, Representing America’s Travel Centers and Truckstops, New England Fuels Institute, Petroleum Marketers Association of America, and Society of Independent Gasoline Marketers of America.