The Great Biodiesel Shutdown

The sufferings of the American biodiesel industry continue. Michigan’s largest biodiesel maker, NextDiesel, is not making any of the fuel in the state at the moment, and the second-largest Michigan producer is down to one-tenth of its capacity, according to Michigan Live. Texas, a large biodiesel producer, has been badly hit, and Europe’s tariff on American exports will particularly affect the port of Houston, according to The Houston Chronicle. In Salem, Ore., a large biodiesel plant is struggling to sell the fuel, which is sitting in tanks and rented storage containers, according to The Statesman Journal, an Oregon paper. (This has not stopped talk of a biodiesel research institute in Salem.) Oregon has a law requiring that all diesel in the state be sold with a 2 percent biodiesel blend. But in a cruel catch, that requirement only applies if a certain amount of biodiesel is produced every month. The hard-hit biodiesel makers are not currently producing at that that level, The Statesman Journal reported...NY Times