WASHINGTON– U.S. President George W. Bush signed the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 into law Oct. 3, shortly after the U.S. House of Representatives passed the legislation with a 263 to 171 vote, according to Biodiesel Magazine. The U.S. Senate approved the bill Oct. 1 by a vote of 74 to 25.

The legislation extends the biodiesel tax credits through Dec. 31, 2009, and qualifies all biodiesel for a $1 per gallon tax credit, including biodiesel made from non-virgin feedstocks, such as yellow grease. Prior legislation limited the tax credit for biodiesel manufactured from non-virgin feedstocks to $0.50 per gallon. The act modified the definition of renewable diesel, eliminating the requirement that the fuel had to be produced using a thermal depolymerization process, including biomass fuel that qualifies as a renewable jet fuel under U.S. Department of Defense military specifications and excluding fuel derived from co-processing biomass with a non-biomass feedstock.

In addition, the law closes the splash and dash loophole, which allowed foreign-produced biodiesel to enter the U.S., be splash-blended to claim tax incentives, and then shipped to a third country for use.