U.S. 2024 Renewable Diesel Capacity Down; Ethanol Up

SECAUCUS, NJ (DTN) – Growth in U.S. production capacity for renewable diesel and other biofuels slowed by more than two-thirds last year versus the prior two years, although ethanol saw a record expansion in output capacity, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said Monday (10/27).

Capacity additions for non-ethanol biofuels, including sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), renewable heating oil, renewable naphtha, renewable propane, renewable gasoline and other emerging biofuels, slowed last year. Their capacity rose a modest 3% from the start of 2024 to the start of this year, the EIA said.

Illustrating its point, the agency said capacity for renewable diesel and non-ethanol biofuels grew by just 391 million gallons per year (Mgpy) last year, less than one-third of the growth observed in 2022 and 2023.

Ethanol production capacity, meanwhile, increased more last year than in prior years. Fuel ethanol accounted for 73% of all biofuels production capacity in 2024, with a total of almost 18.5 billion gallons of capacity per year.

Most of the new ethanol production capacity was concentrated in Midwest states, where corn is produced for feedstock. Because U.S. fuel ethanol consumption has been somewhat flat in recent years, the increased capacity is mostly contributing to growing exports of ethanol, the EIA said.

Amid an increased focus on SAF, capacity growth for renewable diesel and non-ethanol biofuels slowed as only two new refineries came on board in 2024.

The two were Phillips 66’s Rodeo 767-Mgpy refinery in San Francisco’s Contra Costa County that had been converted to exclusively produce biofuels and Grapevine Energy Holdings’ 138-Mgpy Renewable Fuels plant in Bakersfield.

The EIA also noted that eight biodiesel plants closed last year due to poor margins, resulting in a loss of about 100 Mgpy in production capacity.