U.S. Biodiesel Usage Rises in the Residential, Commercial and Electric Power Sectors: EIA

The U.S. is utilizing higher amounts of biodiesel in the residential, electric power and commercial sectors, according to a March 26 report published by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The agency projects that the residential, electric power and commercial sectors together accounted for nearly five percent of U.S. total biodiesel consumption during 2023, up from around one percent from a decade earlier. Historically, the agency attributed all U.S. biodiesel usage to the transportation sector, where a significant amount of biodiesel is used. The transportation sector accounted for 95 percent of the approximate 46 million barrels of U.S. biodiesel consumption during 2023, up by around 12 million barrels from 2013.

The increasing usage of biofuels in the residential, electric power and commercial sectors can be attributed to biofuel blending orders for heating oil in a number of northeastern states.

New York leads the nation in biodiesel consumption for the commercial and residential sectors, accounting for 57 percent of the U.S. total in 2023. New York was also the first state to require biodiesel blending with heating oil, mandating at least two percent starting in 2012. Thereafter, the state implemented a five percent minimum state-wide blend law starting in 2022, which rises to 10 percent during 2025 and 20 percent in 2030.

The states of Rhode Island and Connecticut also implemented state-wide minimum biofuel blend laws for heating oil. Rhode Island implemented a minimum biofuel heating oil blend law that started with a five percent blend in 2017 and rose to 10 percent during 2023. The state’s blend law rises more progressively compared to other states in the U.S., with targets mandated to reach up to 20 percent in 2025 and 50 percent in 2030. Connecticut’s five percent blend law commenced during 2022 and increases to 10 percent in 2025, 15 percent during 2030, 20 percent in 2034, and 50 percent in 2035.