National Biodiesel Board Introduction • Good Morning, My Name Is Anne

Testimony of Anne Steckel - National Biodiesel Board Introduction • Good morning, my name is Anne Steckel and I am the Vice President of Federal Affairs for the National Biodiesel Board. I am also here on behalf of the National Biodiesel Board Fair Trade Coalition, the petitioner in this case. • The National Biodiesel Board — or NBB — is the national trade association representing biodiesel, which is "America's First Advanced Biofuel." The group supports sustainable biodiesel industry growth through education, communication, governmental affairs, and technical and quality assurance programs. The NBB is comprised of approximately 75 biodiesel producers, as well as state and national feedstock organizations. Summary • We are here today because of the significant damage our industry has suffered on account of unfairly traded biodiesel imports from Argentina and Indonesia. • These imports have surged into the market and taken hundreds of millions of gallons of production and sales away from U.S. biodiesel producers. • The low prices at which these imports enter the United States have hit our industry hard - leading domestic producers to incur losses on their substantial investments, and preventing them from making further investments that are necessary for our fledgling industry to grow and succeed in the future. Description of Biodiesel • Let me begin with a brief description of the product covered by your investigation. • Biodiesel is a clean, renewable alternative to petroleum diesel made from a wide variety of animal fats and vegetable oils, including used cooking oil, soybean oil, canola oil, and tallow. Biodiesel is used primarily in blends with petroleum diesel as a transportation fuel and heating oil. • According to the Environmental Protection Agency, biodiesel reduces greenhouse gas emissions by at least 57 percent — and up to 86 percent — as compared to petroleum diesel. Another way to look at it is that for each 100 gallons of biodiesel that is substituted for an equivalent amount of petroleum diesel, net C02 emissions are reduced by one metric ton. • Greenhouse gas emissions reductions, however, are just one of biodiesel's many environmental benefits. Biodiesel also reduces waste in landfills, keeps oil and sludge out of sewer infrastructure and waterways, maximizes the efficient use of agricultural byproducts, and significantly cuts emissions of other air pollutants, particularly air toxics. The U.S. Biodiesel Industry • In the last 10-15 years, biodiesel has grown from a niche fuel to a commercial-scale industry with a U.S. market of over 2.1 billion gallons in 2016 —all made from an increasingly diverse mix of feedstocks. • Building new energy industries is no small endeavor, and cultivating America's biodiesel industry is something we should all take great pride in. U.S. biodiesel producers have made tremendous investments, diversifying their feedstock and increasing their efficiency. In doing so, they have built biodiesel plants that are helping to meet our country's goal of energy independence through an increased mix of sustainable, renewable fuels. • Today, our industry has plants in nearly every state in the country - in big cities and rural communities, along the East and West Coasts and throughout the Heartland. These plants — and the businesses that they support — provide good, well-paying jobs. Every 100 million gallons of biodiesel production supports an estimated 3,200 American jobs. The Renewable Fuel Standard • I would like to spend a few minutes providing a high-level overview of the regulatory environment in which domestic biodiesel and imported biodiesel is sold in this country. To the extent you would like greater detail on any aspect of these government measures, we will be happy to answer any questions. I am joined today by NBB's General Counsel, Sandra Franco, and we can both serve as a resource to you during the Q&A session. • Let me begin by describing the Renewable Fuel Standard, or RFS, because it has been an important factor in the development of our industry. • The legislation creating the RFS was enacted in 2005 and expanded in 2007, with overwhelming bipartisan support in the Congress and signed by President Bush. • The most important element of the RFS is that it mandated that transportation fuel sold in the United States include a minimum amount of biofuel. • The RFS was intended to substantially increase domestic renewable fuel production, which would reduce our dependence on petroleum, create jobs and economic activity in a new American energy industry, and reduce harmful emissions. • As part of the legislation, Congress established several categories of renewable fuels, including "advanced biofuel." The predominant advanced biofuel is biomass-based diesel. Since 2013, EPA has established a mandated minimum volume for biomass-based diesel, and those volumes have grown each year since 2014. • For a biofuel to qualify toward the RFS mandated volumes, it must be made from renewable biomass, and it must also achieve a significant reduction in lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions. • An exception exists for feedstocks that EPA has not approved, including palm oil, if the biofuel comes from a grandfathered facility. Such grandfathered facilities include those in Indonesia which produce palm- based biodiesel. Biodiesel from those plants is also used to satisfy RFS mandated volumes, though for a different renewable fuel category than other biodiesel. Renewable Identification Numbers ("RINs") • Let me also mention the role of Renewable Identification Numbers, or RINs. As I discussed, the RFS establishes a mandatory volume of renewable fuel consumption. The RFS regime assigns responsibility for achieving the mandatory volumes to "obligated parties." Obligated parties are refiners or importers of gasoline or petroleum diesel fuel. • Each obligated party achieves compliance by obtaining credits called "Renewable Identification Numbers," or "RINs." RINs are generated through the production and importation of biodiesel. • Under the RFS program, each gallon of biodiesel produced domestically or imported into the United States generates 1.5 RINs, reflecting the greater energy content associated with biodiesel as compared to ethanol. Even grandfathered, palm-based biodiesel generates 1.5 RINs per gallon. • Obligated parties can buy biodiesel with RINs attached, or acquire RINs detached from biodiesel. RINs become detached, or separated, once an obligated party takes ownership of the biodiesel, or a non-obligated party blends the biodiesel with at least 20 percent petroleum diesel. Once separated, the RIN can be freely traded. This RTN-based system of compliance creates market value for separated RINs. Discretionary Blenders • It is important to keep in mind that, while the RFS and the volumes mandated are an important factor in the biodiesel market, a significant volume of biodiesel is sold to non-obligated parties. The most prominent of these are large, national travel centers, or truck stops, such as Pilot, Love's, and TA. Non-obligated parties, or discretionary blenders, also include smaller, regional distributors. • These parties purchase biodiesel because the relative pricing between biodiesel and petroleum diesel makes it economically attractive to blend biodiesel. Federal Blenders' Tax Credit • Another factor in the U.S. biodiesel market is the federal blenders' tax credit, which allows blenders of biodiesel to claim a credit of $1 per gallon against their U.S. federal tax liability. When first enacted in 2005, the biodiesel tax credit was intended to help make biodiesel prices competitive with petroleum diesel fuel. • Traditionally, obligated parties and discretionary blenders claimed the blenders' tax credit. But because the credit is available for blends containing as little as 0.1 percent biodiesel, many obligated parties and discretionary blenders have shifted responsibility for claiming the credit to biodiesel producers, who then share the value of that credit with their customers through a lower price. • The status of the biodiesel tax credit has always been uncertain. The credit has been extended, expired, or renewed on multiple occasions. Often the biodiesel tax credit has lapsed at the end of the year, only to be renewed retroactively at the end of the following year. Most recently, the tax credit lapsed at the end of 2016 such that it is not currently in effect and there is little indication of whether it will be reinstated anytime soon. Regulatory Landscape Creates Level Playing Field for Domestic and Imported Biodiesel • I have spent a fair amount of my time this morning describing the regulatory environment that influences the production and sale of biodiesel in the United States. These regulations are somewhat complicated, particularly for those that are new to the industry. • For your purposes, perhaps the most important takeaway from this discussion is that U.S.-produced biodiesel and imported biodiesel from Argentina and Indonesia are treated essentially the same way. • That is, biodiesel imports from Argentina and Indonesia are used to satisfy RFS mandated volumes, they generate the same number of RINs as domestically-produced biodiesel, and the blending of imported biodiesel qualifies for the federal blenders' tax credit just the same as the blending of domestic biodiesel. • In short, to the extent these measures influence demand and prices, they have the same effect on both domestically-produced and imported biodiesel. Unfairly Traded Imports Have Injured U.S. Producers

Load more