As Green-Spectrum Diesel Refining Grows, Where Will the Acreage Come From?

May 16, 2022--Written by Paul Wiseman for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Because the U.S. is one of the top exporters of soybeans and soybean products, the land-for-food-versus-fuel debate has an international dimension. This is much like oil and gas markets--the fuels that soy-based biofuels are aiming to replace someday.

As the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) expects renewable diesel refinery capacity to increase to 130,000 barrels per day (BBL/d) by 2030, compared with its 90,000-BBL/d capacity in 2020, while biodiesel capacity drops only slightly during that time. Experts believe the U.S. will need to add 12 million acres of soybeans to fill that demand. It is not likely that this acreage would be available without robbing from food supplies or possibly corn, another biofuels/food source.