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FUELS EIA N E W S 12 NOVEMBER 2015 | FUEL OIL NEWS | www.fueloilnews.com NATION'S STRICTEST REGULATORY BOARD AFFIRMS BIODIESEL AS LOWEST- CARBON FUEL In a fight to reduce greenhouse gas emis- sions, California's Air Resources Board has spent years looking for the cleanest, most efficient ways to cut carbon. Turns out, biodiesel is at the top of the list. On September 25, the board final- ized California's revised Low Carbon Fuels Standard. The new standard affirms America's Advanced Biofuel reduces green- house gas emissions by at least 50% and often by as much as 81% versus petroleum. This gives biodiesel the best carbon score among all liquid fuels. "Biodiesel is the most sustainable fuel on the planet," said Don Scott, National Biodiesel Board director of sustainability. "Low carbon alternatives can also be low cost alternatives when we use diverse sup- plies of renewable resources. This validates that California's carbon reduction goals are obtainable." As part of the state's low carbon fuel standard, the Air Resources Board has refined comprehensive lifecycle analysis to quantify the carbon intensity of con- ventional and alternative fuels. More than seven years of analysis have gone into addressing questions, including indi- rect land use change. California's lifecycle model incorporates all the impacts for producing a fuel's raw materials includ- ing conversion and transportation. The model also includes the indirect economic impacts of growth in global agriculture — making it one of the most thorough and rigorous evaluations ever done to quantify the environmental foot- print of biofuels. The findings echo what the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency deter- mined five years ago in establishing the federal Renewable Fuel Standard. Under that program, biodiesel qualifies as an Advanced Biofuel, with the EPA analysis showing that it reduces carbon emissions from 57% to 86%. "California's analysis, which has been validated by independent academic review, provides confidence that biodiesel is, without question, a more sustainable alternative for transportation fuel. The commercial success of the growing bio- diesel industry suggests goals to further reduce greenhouse gases and displace imported petroleum are appropriate and achievable. With a focus on carbon reduc- tion and the national policy to support it, biodiesel could reduce carbon emission by 40 million tons annually," said Scott. These scores are reported in grams of carbon dioxide equivalent per megajoule of fuel. All of the feedstocks listed for bio- diesel are used in significant volumes. Weighting these scores by the amount of each feedstock used nationally in 2014 suggests that the average biodiesel in the market has a carbon intensity of 38.4 g/ MJ—giving it the lowest carbon intensity of any category of liquid or gaseous fuel, and making it competitive with electric vehicles as a carbon mitigation strategy. "This is not an academic exercise. It's where the rubber hits the road in determin- ing where Californians get their fuels for the next 20 or 30 years," said Scott. "It's the difference between continuing the status quo of oil dependence and stimulating the development of cleaner alternatives. CARB should be commended for its leadership and for taking a bold approach. We are proud that biodiesel is part of the solution." GLOBAL WOOD PELLETS MARKET REPORT: WOOD PELLETS EXPECTED TO BOOM OWING TO THEIR USE AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO FOSSIL FUEL The production of wood pellets has seen a spike in recent years, thanks to their attri- butes such as high energy density and ease of production/supply. These qualities of wood pellets have gained significance in the backdrop of tighter emission control norms. Based on these trends, it is expected that the global wood pellets market will rise at a remarkable 14.1% CAGR between 2015 and 2023, by which year the market is expected to touch a value of US$20,073.1 million. Governments and environmental regulation agencies have stressed on the use of wood pellets as a means to cut back on the high degree of dependence on fossil fuel, especially coal. Thus, it is easy to see why nearly every stakeholder across the value chain of the global wood pellet market will benefit from the impending boom in the market. As things stood in 2014, Canada and the United States were the largest wood pellet exporters in the world. In both these countries, wood pellet production has been encouraged because of two key reasons: Wood pellets are regarded as a sustain- able alternative to fossil fuels, helping them gain the stamp of approval from regulatory agencies. Because wood pellets are an afford- able, carbon-neutral and easily-available biofuel, several industries have been quick to adopt them. They are made from raw material that would otherwise find little use in other applications. From bark to saw dust to wood shavings, a variety of superfluous materials go into the production of wood pellets.