EIA releases plant-level U.S. biofuels production capacity data

As of January 1, 2021, total U.S. biofuels plant production capacity reached 21 billion gallons per year (gal/y) (or 1.3 million barrels per day [b/d]), as reported by 278 facilities. Fuel ethanol producers accounted for 85% of U.S. total biofuels production capacity, followed by biodiesel producers at 11%, and the remaining 4% by renewable diesel fuel and other biofuels producers.

On September 3, we released our three annual plant production capacity reports: 2021 Fuel Ethanol Production Capacity, 2021 Biodiesel Plant Production Capacity, and 2021 Renewable Diesel Fuel and Other Biofuels Plant Production Capacity. The three annual reports contain our most up-to-date estimates of the plant production capacity for the U.S. biofuels industry. The reports include biofuels production capacity for operating plants in both million gal/y and thousand b/d as of January 1, 2021. The names of the reporting plants are organized by state and region.

Biodiesel producers, operating 75 biodiesel plants, accounted for 2.4 billion gal/y of U.S. total biodiesel production capacity (157,000 b/d) at the start of 2021, down by 0.1 billion gal/y since January 2020. More than half of U.S biodiesel production capacity is in the Midwest, primarily in Iowa, Missouri, and Illinois. The remainder is mostly located in the Gulf Coast and West Coast.

Of the 13 states with the most fuel ethanol production, 12 are located in the Midwest. The three states with the most production—Iowa, Nebraska, and Illinois—contain half of the nation’s total ethanol production capacity.

Six renewable diesel fuel producers reported to EIA for the first time. They provided data for renewable diesel fuel, renewable heating oil, renewable jet fuel, renewable naphtha, renewable gasoline, and other biofuels and biointermediates. Their combined operable production capacity totals 791 million gal/y (or 52,000 b/d).

Respondents report biofuels production capacity data on the Form EIA-819, Monthly Report of Biofuels, Fuels from Non-Biogenic Wastes, Fuel Oxygenates, Isooctane, and Isooctene, survey. You can access additional survey data in our three reports.

Principal contributors: Chris Buckner, Sean Hill