US biodiesel tax break extended through 2011
The US House of Representatives voted by a 277 to 148 margin to approve HR 4853, the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and Job Creation Act of 2010. The legislation, which reflects the framework of the tax agreement reached by President Obama and Congress, retroactively extends the biodiesel tax incentive through 2011. The bill has just been signed into law by President Obama.
“Reinstatement of the biodiesel tax credit is welcome news for the US biodiesel industry and good news for the nation as a whole,” said Manning Feraci, NBB vice president of federal affairs.
Biodiesel is a commercially viable, renewable, low carbon diesel replacement fuel that is widely accepted in the marketplace. The fuel meets an exact commercial fuel specification (ASTM D6751) and is the only domestically produced, commercial scale fuel that qualifies as an advanced biofuel under the Renewable Fuels Standard.
The biodiesel tax incentive is structured in a manner that makes the fuel price competitive with conventional diesel fuel in the marketplace. The lapse of the tax incentive on December 31, 2009 has had a detrimental impact on the domestic biodiesel industry. Conversely, retroactive reinstatement and extension of the tax incentive through 2011, as provided for in the tax bill approved by the US Senate, is widely expected to increase US biodiesel production and in the process, displace foreign petroleum with a domestic advanced biofuel.
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