Operable U.S. biofuels capacity showed little change in September, according to new data released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) on November 28. Feedstock consumption, however, fell compared with both August and September 2024, reports Biodiesel Magazine.
Total biofuels capacity reached 25.296 billion gallons per year, an increase of 3 million gallons per year (MMgy) from the previous month and 402 MMgy higher than September last year.
Ethanol capacity held steady at 18.33 billion gallons, unchanged month over month but up 11 MMgy from September 2024.
Capacity for renewable diesel and related products — including renewable heating oil, jet fuel, naphtha, gasoline and other biofuels — also remained unchanged at 4.989 billion gallons per year. This figure represents a year-over-year increase of 409 MMgy.
Biodiesel capacity saw a small rise to 1.978 billion gallons per year, up 3 MMgy from August but 17 MMgy lower than a year earlier.
Total biofuel feedstock use in September was 27.982 billion pounds, nearly 4% lower than the previous month and slightly below levels recorded in September 2024.
Producers used 24.38 billion pounds of corn, down from 25.725 billion pounds in August and 25.046 billion pounds a year earlier.
Grain sorghum use dropped to 575 million pounds from 632 million pounds in August but remained significantly above the 110 million pounds used in September 2024.
Soybean oil consumption totalled 1.053 billion pounds, with biodiesel plants using 590 million pounds and renewable diesel producers using 464 million pounds. In comparison, August consumption was 1.041 billion pounds, while September 2024 saw 1.076 billion pounds used.
Corn oil consumption rose to 419 million pounds, up from 363 million pounds in August and 361 million pounds in September last year. Canola oil use totalled 266 million pounds, down slightly from 270 million pounds in August and 289 million pounds a year earlier. The EIA did not break down the figures by producer type to protect company-specific data.
In September, producers also used 824 million pounds of tallow, 416 million pounds of yellow grease and 49 million pounds of white grease. These figures compare with August totals of 622 million, 312 million and 37 million pounds, respectively, and with 600 million, 587 million and 50 million pounds in September 2024.
The EIA withheld September data for several feedstock categories — including agricultural and forestry residues, poultry fat, other waste oils and greases, recycled feeds and other unspecified materials — to prevent disclosure of individual company information.
