to policy work. It’s a great model of
partnership and respect that two
different industries, farmers and biodiesel
producers, have. They fund us, so we can
accomplish a lot of great things.”
When the soy industry established
NBB, the farmers who were paying into
the checkoff program decided that the
board should advocate from a feedstock-neutral
point of view. “In 2018, we see a
little over 50% of the biodiesel produced
in the United States is made with
soybean oil, so the other half is produced
from other feedstocks,” he explained.
“It was a very visionary decision by the
soybean industry to see biodiesel as
something bigger than just them. It has
proved very beneficial not only to them,
but it has also resulted in a lot higher
value in other markets, such as restaurant
oil collection and meat production.”
NBB also advocates for renewable diesel
producers.
The National Biodiesel Board has
also helped the biodiesel industry build
We see an industry
that is just waiting
to burst with its
ability to grow and
produce more.
bridges to heating oil dealers in the
Northeast. “Our farmer leaders saw that
a lot of heating oil dealers are just like
them. Their businesses have been in the
family for generations. They rely on the
weather for their livelihood. And to hear
that the heating oil dealers were being
put out of business by the competition,
that is not lost on the farmers, who saw
many farms lost to challenges that they
had no control over. It’s also a nice fit
because heating oil is consumed primarily
in the winter. With Paul Nazzaro’s
guidance and the buy-in from a lot of
leaders on our side, the cooperative
research and investment have continued.
It’s been a great match for our two
industries.”
Policy has been a consistent challenge
for NBB. Ten years ago, “biodiesel was
the darling of the ball” on Capitol Hill,
but some of that shine has now gone,
Rehagen said. “We’ve got some work to
do in that area, because it is important
to have policy that is a backstop for the
industry. Even though we’re 25 years
1992 the organization that became
NBB was founded
old, we are still the little kid in the family
compared to petroleum and ethanol. We
want to get back to where policy is not so
on-again, off-again. We enjoy the support
of Democrats and Republicans, but we
just don’t enjoy the support of enough of
them.”
NBB is also continuing to propel
biodiesel technology forward. “The
quality of the product going out today
is much improved, and because of that,
we’ve enjoyed more support from engine
manufacturers. But they continue to
develop their technology in response to
policymakers seeking cleaner fuel, so we
have to be ready to step up with research
on our side. We have a lot to offer to
conventional diesel fuel to make that end
product much cleaner burning.”
The CEO is very optimistic about
biodiesel’s future. “We see an industry
that is just waiting to burst with its ability
to grow and produce more. What has
been missing is a consistent signal from
our government that investment in this
industry over a long term is a good idea.
One of our primary goals is to get that
settled down. There are a lot of our
companies, as well as outside investors,
that would like to put money back into
this industry and see it grow.”
Donnell Rehagen
CEO, National Biodiesel Board
Biodiesel Success Stories 13