EIA Product Highlight: Plant-level biodiesel production capacity

Earlier this year, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released its first annual U.S. Biodiesel Plant Production Capacity Report. The report includes the total biodiesel production capacity for all operating plants in both million gallons per year (gal/y) and barrels per day (b/d) as of January 1, 2019. The names of the reporting plants are organized by Petroleum Administration for Defense Districts (PADD). Like the Ethanol Plant Production Capacity Report, EIA plans to update the report annually.

Annual production capacity refers to the volume of fuel that can be produced in a calendar year under normal operating conditions, assuming normal downtime for maintenance. Reported production capacity totals include all active plants, which include those that are temporarily inactive.

Active plants are plants that have produced or sold biodiesel during the reporting month. Temporarily inactive plants are plants that have not produced or sold biodiesel during the reporting month but have not permanently ceased operations. Plants may report as temporarily inactive when they are undergoing maintenance or are idled during times of low operating margins.

The 2019 U.S. Biodiesel Plant Production Capacity Report shows 102 operating biodiesel plants with 2.6 billion gal/y in biodiesel production capacity, or 167,000 b/d. More than half of the nation’s biodiesel production capacity is in the Midwest (PADD 2) region, led by states such as Iowa, Missouri, and Illinois. Of the top 15 biodiesel-producing states, 9 are located in the Midwest.

Principal contributor: Chris Buckner