Meeting Oregon’s Renewable Fuel Standard: can local producers produce the goods?

In Oregon, a debate continues over whether large-scale national producers or small-scale local producers should be the base for meeting Oregon’s new renewable fuel standard (RFS). The B2 mandate in the RFS takes effect only after local producers hit the 5 million gallon production mark.

The City of Portland’s Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) went into effect this year and Oregon’s RFS goes into effect January 1, 2008. However, Green Fuels in Klamath County, fell short of its 1 million gallon production goal due to a shortage of canola oil at affordable prices for a small-scale production.

Another problem: testing costs $1400 per batch, a prohibitive expense for the small-scale producer but required in order to provide fuel under most contracts.

SeQuential Pacific, a local producer, said that local producers can make a maximum of 20 million gallons of biodiesel a year.

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