A new bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives could do much to increase the use of biodiesel in the U.S. commercial and private automobile fleets, according to a report on the Website SolarAccess.com on July 9. Both the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) and the American Soybean Association (ASA) announced their support for the Energy Independence Act (H.R. 4652), which was introduced by Rep. Jim Nussle at the end of June. The bill includes incentives that would help spur the use of domestically produced biodiesel — a cleaner burning fuel made from renewable resources such as soybean oil. Among the provisions in H.R. 4652 that would help to increase the use of biodiesel are:

• Requiring federal agency fleet vehicles to use ethanol and biodiesel fuels when feasible.

• Permanently extending and expanding tax credits for electricity derived from sources such as wind, ethanol and biodiesel.

• Tax measures to promote vehicles that use alternative fuels and clean engines.

• Creating a Renewable Fuel Standard to require increasing use in motor fuels of renewable sources over the next eight years. Biodiesel works in any diesel engine with few or no modifications. It can be used in its pure form (B100), or blended with petroleum diesel at any level — most commonly 20 percent (B20). According to NBB, more than 400 major fleets use biodiesel commercially nationwide. More than 200 retail filling stations also make biodiesel available to the public, and more than a thousand petroleum distributors carry it nationwide.