Pacific Biodiesel President Robert King attended in early July the formal signing of the Renewable Fuels Production Tax Credit by Hawaii Gov. David Ige, a long-awaited incentive for biofuels producers in the state. This move supports Hawaii’s commitment to generate 100 percent of its electricity from renewable energy resources by 2045.

Hawaii State Act 202 is a nonrefundable tax credit for the production of renewable fuels, including biodiesel, which will take effect in 2017 for five years. The annual dollar amount of the tax credit is equal to 20 cents per 76,000 Btu of renewable fuel (the equivalent of one gallon of ethanol). The tax credit is capped at $3 million 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. “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 U.S. and Japan and its community-based biodiesel model has become a standard for the sustainable renewable fuel industry in Hawaii and globally. With a nameplate production capacity of 5.5 million gallons annually, the Pacific Biodiesel refinery on Hawaii Island utilizes state-of-the art distillation technology to produce the highest-quality biodiesel in the country.