Monday, June 3, 2013

A Dispatch From The War On Oil: Biodiesel Production Jumps 43% & Sets Record

The war on oil continues.  Oil substitutes--natural gas, electricity, and biofuels--are slowly displacing more and more expensive, dirty oil and are a major reason why US oil consumption is back to 1999 to 2000 levels.

While biodiesel is a small competitor to oil, the biodiesel David is growing, as it battles the oil Goliath that remains our top energy source.  Biodiesel production jumped 43% in March, compared to February.
http://www.eia.gov/biofuels/biodiesel/production/table1.pdf.

Even more impressively, March 2013 production set an all-time record for biodiesel produced in the month of March. Moreover, March 2013 production of 98 million gallons was the fifth highest amount produced in any single month.

Biodiesel is a wonderful energy product, normally made from soy beans or restaurant grease. It has a vastly superior energy balance to either gasoline or corn ethanol, making it one of the cleanest transportation fuels available.

The all-time monthly record still stands at 109 million gallons in December 2011.  Last year the monthly high was 100 million gallons in May.  Chances of a new monthly record being set in 2013 are looking up.


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