December 3, 2014
BY Ron Kotrba
Yesterday the USDA announced $5.6 million in grants to advanced biofuel producers and more than $4 million in additional grants to organizations and institutions to help advance the U.S. bioeconomy. The producer payments are provided through the USDA’s Advanced Biofuel Payment Program established in the 2008 Farm Bill. Payments are made to eligible producers based on the amount of advanced biofuel produced from renewable biomass, other than corn kernel starch. Examples of eligible feedstocks include crop residue; animal, food and yard waste; vegetable oil; and animal fat. As in previous rounds of granting under this program, biodiesel producers are receiving the majority share of the funds.
Of the $5.6 million granted to advanced biofuel producers, biodiesel (and renewable diesel) producers are receiving more than $4.6 million. The total number of grant recipients is 147. Of that, 74 are receiving grants for biodiesel and/or renewable diesel production, 33 for pellets, 20 for anaerobic digestion, 19 for ethanol production, and one for landfill gas. Below is a list of the companies receiving payments for production of biodiesel and/or renewable diesel, sorted from highest to lowest payments.
RENEWABLE ENERGY GROUP, INC. |
594,293 |
AG PROCESSING, INC. |
388,036 |
DIAMOND GREEN DIESEL |
352,362 |
LOUIS DREYFUS AGRICULTURAL INDUSTRIES, LLC |
342,800 |
RBF PORT NECHES, LLC |
217,849 |
PASEO CARGILL ENERGY, LLC |
200,829 |
OWENSBORO GRAIN COMPANY, LLC |
174,102 |
MID-AMERICA BIOFUELS, LLC |
164,618 |
IMPERIUM GRAYS HARBOR, LLC |
163,497 |
ARCHER DANIELS MIDLAND COMPANY |
154,561 |
LAKE ERIE BIOFUELS, LLC DBA HERO BX |
148,891 |
CINCINNATI RENEWABLE FUELS, LLC |
144,713 |
DEERFIELD ENERGY, LLC |
143,374 |
FUTUREFUEL CHEMICAL COMPANY |
135,057 |
MN SOYBEAN PROCESSORS |
119,280 |
HIGH PLAINS BIOENERGY, LLC |
115,815 |
GREEN EARTH FUELS OF HOUSTON, LLC |
90,056 |
INCOBRASA INDUSTRIES, LTD. |
88,572 |
WESTERN IOWA ENERGY |
72,317 |
WESTERN DUBUQUE BIODIESEL, LLC |
58,151 |
BLUE SUN BIODIESEL, LLC |
57,255 |
PETER CREMER NORTH AMERICA, LP |
53,393 |
IOWA RENEWABLE ENERGY, LLC |
50,897 |
SCOTT PETROLEUM CORPORATION |
47,480 |
DELEK RENEWABLES, LLC |
36,761 |
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GEN-X ENERGY GROUP, INC.
35,617
IMPERIAL WESTERN PRODUCTS, INC.
32,954
ELEVANCE NATCHEZ, INC.
32,622
CRIMSON RENEWABLE ENERGY, LP
31,409
GLOBAL ALTERNATIVE FUELS, LLC
28,274
SOUTHERN RESOURCES AND COMMODITIES, LLC
22,819
SEQUENTIAL-PACIFIC BIODIESEL
21,891
BIOENERGY DEVELOPMENT GROUP, LLC
21,772
MIDWEST BIODIESEL PRODUCT, LLC
21,014
VIESEL FUEL, LLC
19,855
AMERICAN BIODIESEL, INC.
19,394
CENTER ALTERNATIVE ENERGY COMPANY II
18,876
U.S. BIOFUELS, INC.
16,901
WASHAKIE RENEWABLE ENERGY, LLC
16,543
CLINTON COUNTY BIO ENERGY, LLC
16,365
GREENLEAF BIOFUELS, LLC
16,016
BIODIESEL OF LAS VEGAS, INC.
15,686
NORTH STAR BIOFUELS, LLC
13,286
ETHOS ALTERNATIVE ENERGY MISSISSIPPI, LLC
13,103
EVER CAT FUELS, LLC
9,936
NEW LEAF BIOFUEL, LLC
9,719
INTEGRITY BIOFUELS, LLC
9,067
NATURAL BIODIESEL PLANT, LLC
8,867
WHITE MOUNTAIN BIODIESEL, LLC
8,655
BIG ISLAND BIODIESEL, LLC
7,817
ME BIO ENERGY, LLC
6,730
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RECO BIODIESEL, LLC
6,361
GENUINE BIO-FUEL, INC.
6,233
RENEWABLE ENVIRONMENTAL SOLUTIONS, LLC
5,932
VEROS ENERGY, LLC
5,794
GRIFFIN INDUSTRIES, INC.
5,408
NEWPORT BIODIESEL, LLC
4,146
VIRGINIA BIODIESEL REFINERY, LLC
3,764
AGRIBIOFUELS, LLC
3,637
JNS BIOFUELS, LLC
3,232
WALSH BIO FUELS, LLC
2,485
SOUTHEAST BIODIESEL, LLC
2,464
GGS FT MYERS, LLC
2,452
SUN POWER BIODIESEL, LLC
2,104
GENERAL BIODIESEL SEATTLE, LLC
2,087
EMERGENT GREEN ENERGY, INC.
1,912
MAINE BIO-FUEL, INC.
1,346
BLUE RIDGE BIOFUELS, LLC
1,218
BENTLY BIOFUELS COMPANY
1,209
DOWN TO EARTH ENERGY, LLC
965
TOTAL PETROLEUM, LLC
940
TRIANGLE BIOFUELS INDUSTRIES, INC.
860
KIOR COLUMBUS, LLC
805
BIODIESEL ONE, LTD.
727
Blue Sun Biodiesel is receiving $57,255 under the program. “Blue Sun is reinvesting all incentive funds received to commercialize advanced production technology at the Blue Sun St. Joe biodiesel refinery,” Blue Sun’s Business Manager Steve Bond told Biodiesel Magazine. “Our biggest achievements in this area are inventions by Blue Sun related to enzymatic transesterification and the Blue Sun MAX Process.”
American Biodiesel, doing business as Community Fuels, is receiving more than $19,000 under the program. “During 2014 our team has been working to complete the installation of an advanced biofuel terminal and an expansion of our production capacity,” Lisa Mortenson, CEO of Community Fuels, told Biodiesel Magazine. “While our primary focus this year has been construction, we are pleased that we have been able to maintain a base level of production to serve key customers. The USDA payment is tied to production and continues to provide critical support to U.S. biodiesel producers. We sincerely appreciate the USDA and their support of biodiesel—America’s first commercially available advanced biofuel. Our industry has struggled with inconsistent regulations from other agencies, but the USDA has not wavered in its support of biodiesel and its benefits for America—cleaner air, good jobs, energy diversity and high-value use of agricultural coproducts.”
The additional grants totaling more than $4 million to organizations and institutions come from USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture. The National Biodiesel Board and Regents of the University of Idaho received $768,000 and $192,000, respectively, through the Biodiesel Fuel Education Program. The program was established to stimulate biodiesel consumption and the development of a biodiesel infrastructure. The funded education and outreach activities will raise awareness of biodiesel fuel use among governmental and private entities that operate vehicle fleets and the public. Funded projects also focus on educational programs supporting advances in infrastructure, technology transfer, fuel quality, fuel safety and increasing feedstock production.
South Dakota State University received $2.3 million through the Sun Grant Program. This program encourages bioenergy and biomass research collaboration between government agencies, land-grant colleges and universities, and the private sector. SDSU will lead a consortium of five regional grant centers and one subcenter that makes competitive grants to projects that contribute to research, education and outreach for the regional production and sustainability of possible biobased feedstocks. The project period will not exceed five years.
Through the Critical Agricultural Materials program, Iowa State University of Science and Technology received $1 million for the development of new paint, coating, and adhesive products that are derived from acrylated glycerol, a coproduct of the biodiesel industry. The Critical Agricultural Materials program supports the development of products that are manufactured from domestically-produced agricultural materials and are of strategic and industrial importance to benefit the economy, defense, and general well-being of the nation. Many such products replace petroleum-based products and offer opportunities to create new businesses and new markets for agricultural materials.
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