From The Workbench - Alternative + Renewable Energy Blog Valuable information for do-it-yourselfers interested in the latest in alternative + renewable energy

Move over Germany because by 2012 you’ll officially be tossed off the top of the throne.  That’s right folks, by 2012 the United States will officially be the single largest consumer of biodiesel in the entire world.  Early estimates claim that the U.S. will be responsible for 19% of all purchase and consumption, easily placing it atop all other countries.

Currently, the biodiesel industry is seeing huge grown in the U.S. in both production and consumption.  It has grown “an average of 50% each year for the past 5 years and even saw triple digit grown in 2006.”  Wow.  As mentioned, Germany is the current country leader of biodiesel at 30% of the world’s market, but that number is in decline as other countries are on the rise.

As mentioned in the article I just read, something that has to be kept in mind is that without tax exemptions and political support, biodiesel might have a rocky future.  Production costs of biodiesel is currently much higher than that of regular diesel and so without those two things, the widespread adoption of such a great technology might be a bit slow and underdeveloped.  Clearly biodiesel is a tricky industry as it also directly affects food prices around the country.  As the article mentions,

“…the biofuel movement may be becoming its own worst enemy. As more food acres are used to grow fuel and as more environment-damaging farming practices are used to keep up with the demand, the price of food rises. As the world food bank becomes more expensive, governments may be more likely to cut biofuel targets and less likely to offer tax incentives.”