FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - March 28, 2005                                                        

Contact:  Jenna Higgins/National Biodiesel Board: 800-841-5849
Rich Chrismer/Talent Office: (202) 224-4812

COLUMBIA, Mo. – U.S. Senator Jim Talent (R-Mo.), Co-Chair of the Senate Biofuels Caucus, today announced a comprehensive renewable fuels package he is sponsoring in the Senate.   The package includes two bills; one doubling the market for renewable fuels by 2012 (S. 650) and the other expanding tax credits for agricultural producers (S. 610).  Talent said he is introducing the legislation on behalf of Missouri’s producers and the state’s economy.

“Renewable fuels are at the crux of economic growth and jobs; at the crux of energy security; at the crux of consumer benefits; at the crux of environmental quality; and at the crux of value-added agriculture for America’s producers,” said Sen. Talent who serves on both the Senate Agriculture Committee and the Senate Energy Committee.  “The package I have introduced would establish the strongest Renewable Fuels Standard ever considered by the Congress and provide incentives for producers who want to expand an ethanol plant or a biodiesel plant.”

Sen. Talent’s plan establishes a Renewable Fuels Standard, phasing in renewable fuels over 7 years, beginning with 4 billion gallons by 2006 and ending at 8 billion gallons in 2012.  The legislation provides that the renewable fuels requirement in 2013 and after will be no less than the percentage of 8 billion gallons of renewable fuel to the total number of gallons of gasoline and diesel in 2012.

The legislation also establishes a tax credit for small biodiesel producers, allowing producers that make up to 60 million gallons of biodiesel per year to be eligible for a ten-cent-per-gallon tax credit.  It also increases the current small ethanol producer tax credit, expanding it to those who produce up to 60 million gallons annually.  The small producer tax credit was created as an incentive for farmers who invested in small ethanol production facilities.

Senator Talent is also expected to be a key leader in extending the biodiesel tax incentive, a two-year tax credit that took effect Jan. 1.  Extending the incentive is the biodiesel industry’s number one priority.  Talent says he plans on introducing an extension bill, working with other Congressional champions like Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), Rep. Kenny Hulshof (R-MO), and Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D-ND).

“Increased biodiesel and ethanol use that would result from Sen. Talent’s plan will contribute to our national economy, reduce emissions and increase our domestic energy security…things all Americans will benefit from,” said Darryl Brinkmann, chairman of the National Biodiesel Board, a nonprofit organization based in Jefferson City, Mo. 

Biodiesel, produced from renewable fats and oils such as soybean oil, works in any diesel engine with few or no modifications.  It offers enhanced lubricity and cetane, plus similar horsepower and torque when compared to petroleum diesel.  More than 500 major fleets use biodiesel commercially nationwide including all four branches of the military, NASA, Harvard University, the National Park Service, U.S. Postal Service and others. About 300 retail filling stations make various biodiesel blends available to the public, and more than 1,000 petroleum distributors carry it nationwide.

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