The National Biodiesel Board (NBB) and the American Soybean Association (ASA) today commended Democratic Presidential nominee John Kerry for including broad renewable fuel provisions in his energy plan. The plan includes a biodiesel tax incentive to help diversify America’s energy supply.

Biodiesel is a cleaner burning alternative to petroleum-based diesel, and it is made from renewable resources like soybeans, grown here in the United States.

Kerry’s plan calls for extending the ethanol tax incentive, which is currently set to expire in 2007. According to the plan, Kerry would extend the tax incentive “…until 2020 and would include both ethanol and biodiesel.”

Securing passage of a biodiesel tax incentive is an urgent legislative priority of ASA and NBB. Due in large part to the efforts of U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) and others, a biodiesel tax incentive was included in the final Energy Bill. It is a federal excise tax credit that amounts to one penny per percentage point of biodiesel blended with petroleum diesel. The biodiesel tax incentive was also included in the Senate-passed Transportation Bill and legislation approved by the Senate to repeal the Foreign Sales Corporation and Extraterritorial Income (FSC/ETI) tax exclusion.

Kerry unveiled his energy plan today while campaigning at a farm in Smithville, Missouri.

“With every step we take toward an energy independent America, we’re not just securing ourselves against threats from abroad, we’re securing ourselves a stronger future here at home,” Kerry said. “We’re putting people to work, we’re creating new jobs, we’re fueling the growth of a new economy and we’re making sure that instead of sending millions of our dollars to the Mideast, we’re investing them in the Main Streets and small farms of the Midwest and all across America.”

“We are encouraged by this plan and the fact that Kerry is calling for a biodiesel tax incentive until 2020,” said NBB Chairman and ASA First-Vice President Bob Metz, a South Dakota soybean farmer. “Extension to 2020 will allow for huge growth within the biodiesel industry, which will reduce our dependence on foreign oil while building rural economies and improving air quality.”

But Metz stressed that with a biodiesel tax incentive already included in three pieces of pending legislation, now is the time to get it passed.

“We hope Senator Kerry will use his current position in Congress to get the biodiesel tax incentive through immediately,” Metz said. “There’s no reason to wait.”

Biodiesel works in any diesel engine with few or no modifications. It can be used in its pure form (B100), or blended with petroleum diesel at any level -- most commonly 20 percent (B20). Soybean farmers have invested millions of dollars through the soybean checkoff to build the biodiesel industry in the United States.

More than 400 major fleets use biodiesel commercially nationwide. About 200 retail filling stations make biodiesel available to the public, and more than 1000 petroleum distributors carry it nationwide.

Biodiesel is nontoxic, biodegradable and essentially free of sulfur and aromatics. Biodiesel offers similar fuel economy, horsepower and torque to petroleum diesel while providing superior lubricity. It significantly reduces emissions of carbon monoxide, particulate matter, unburned hydrocarbons and sulfates. On a lifecycle basis, biodiesel reduces carbon dioxide by 78 percent compared to petroleum diesel.