The requirement should notch down diesel pollution. But given the preferences of oil companies for biodiesel made of Midwest soy beans, it's not clear how much it will benefit Oregon's three homegrown biodiesel refiners. 

The 2 percent blend is now required in Multnomah, Washington, Clackamas, Marion, Clatsop, Columbia, Tillamook, Yamhill and Polk counties. Come Oct. 1, the 2 percent blend -- known as "B2" -- will be required statewide, creating a 10 million gallon annual demand for biodiesel.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

State of Oregon's 
B2 Biodiesel Blending Mandate
August 1st and October 1st

Effective August 5, 2009, all diesel fuel (except railroad, marine, and heating oil applications) in nine northwest Oregon counties must be at least B2 biodiesel blends.

At least B2 biodiesel blends are required in all diesel after August 1, 2009 in the following northwest nine Oregon counties: Clackamas, Clatsop, Columbia, Marion, Multnomah, Polk, Tillamook, Washington, and Yamhill.

At least B2 biodiesel blends are required in all diesel (except railroad, marine, and heating oil applications) after October 1, 2009 in the remaining Oregon counties.

"Done right," biofuels can be produced in large quantities and have multiple benefits, but only if they come from feedstocks produced with low life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions, as well as minimal competition with food production. This consensus emerges in a new journal article by researchers from the University of Minnesota, Princeton, MIT and the University of California, Berkeley.

"The world needs to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy, but recent findings have thrown the emerging biofuels industry into a quandary. We met to seek solutions," said the U of M's David Tilman, a noted ecologist and lead author of the paper. "We found that the next generation of biofuels can be highly beneficial if produced properly."