The presentation of the webinar is accessible .
Agenda:
This webinar provided information on:
•Ongoing requirements set by the U.S. federal and state-level renewable fuel mandates
•Requirements under new, emerging renewable fuel schemes (e.g. Canada, Washington state)
•Recent developments in renewable diesel production capacity (fuel and feedstocks)
•How much (and how quickly) renewable diesel might be able to contribute to compliance of renewable energy mandates
Background:
Since the onset of the RFS and CA LCFS, required volumes of biofuel to be blended with conventional transportation fuels has grown significantly.
However, this process has not been without problems:
•Reliance on 1st gen, non-drop-in fuels has hit practical limits (e.g. “blend walls,” uneconomic mid-level blends)
•There have been a number of challenges to key elements of these schemes, such as judicial challenges to small refinery exemptions and refinery industry concerns over the cost of compliance (e.g. RINs)
A number of refiners have sought to enter into the biofuel realm in order to reduce compliance costs and, in some cases, profit from these schemes.
One key technology has been hydrotreatment of fats and oils (e.g. renewable diesel), whose penetration into the fuel pool will likely increase sharply over the next few years.