Advanced biofuels passes 1 billion gallons in capacity: E2 study

Advanced biofuels capacity for 2013 is 1 billion gallons gasoline equivalent. Capacity for 2015 is between 1.4 and 1.6 billion gallons gasoline equivalent.

160 commercial scale facilities planned, under construction, or complete from 159 companies

Private investment in the advanced biofuel industry totals over $4.85 billion since 2007

Federal loan guarantees exceed $1.1 billion since 2008. Nine of the current biorefinery projects have received these loan guarantees.

In California, Environmental Entrepreneurs’ (E2) have released their annual assessment of the advanced biofuel industry shows steady improvements in technology and production capacity, and concludes that there will be sufficient supply of advanced biofuels to meet the federal Renewable Fuel Standard through 2016.

The report comes amidst renewed scrutiny of the RFS from Congress this summer, as the oil industry and other interest groups seek to roll back the renewable fuel requirements.

“The advanced biofuels industry continues to grow, despite a persistently challenging financial climate,” said report co-author Mary Solecki, who runs the E2 Clean Fuels Program. “A number of commercial scale operations are online with many more to come, providing further evidence that the RFS, if implemented properly, can work to drive the production of clean, low carbon fuels.”

To qualify as advanced for the E2 report, a biofuel must deliver at least a 50 percent reduction in carbon intensity compared to petroleum using calculations developed by the California Air Resources Board. Biodiesel remains the dominant advanced biofuel today and is expected to remain the forerunner through 2016. So-called “drop-in” fuels show significant progress and the report authors expect them to contribute more substantially to overall advanced biofuel capacity over time.

“Our research suggests there is real potential for advanced biofuels to continue to scale up,” Solecki said. “New investments and regulatory certainty will help ensure the successful commercialization of these projects.”

The complete report can be downloaded here.