The US imported 525 million gallons of biomass-based diesel in 2013, nearly 10 times the 2012 total of 61 million gallons, the Energy Information Administration data said Friday.
The substantial growth reflected increased demand to satisfy blending mandates in the federal Renewable Fuel Standard and increased access to biodiesel from other countries, the EIA said in a report.
A significant amount of the biodiesel came from Argentina in the final four months of the year after the European Union imposed stiff antidumping duties on Argentinean biodiesel in November, the EIA said.
US biodiesel production soared by 35% in 2013 to a record 1.34 billion gallons in 2013, including a record 135 million gallons in December as the $1/gal biodiesel blending tax credit was set to expire, according to the EIA.
Congress has yet to renew the biodiesel tax credit for 2014, but many sources believe it will be brought back and applied through 2015.
The biomass-based diesel RFS target went to 1.28 billion gallons from 1 billion gallons in 2013, alongside a rise in advanced biofuel mandates to 2.75 billion gallons from 2 billion gallons.
