US biodiesel market shrunk in 2014 due to policy uncertainty

In Washington, the U.S. biodiesel market shrunk in 2014 amid policy uncertainty in Washington that destabilized the industry and caused many biodiesel plants to shut down or reduce production.

According to EPA data released Jan. 15, total U.S. biodiesel consumption fell to 1.75 billion gallons for the year, down slightly from nearly 1.8 billion gallons in 2013. The downturn came as the Obama administration failed to finalize biodiesel volumes under the renewable fuel standard (RFS) and Congress allowed the biodiesel tax incentive to lapse at the beginning of 2014.