Minnesota to Require Biodiesel Blend Starting Thursday

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tarting Thursday, Minnesota will become the first state to require that all diesel fuel contain 2% biodiesel made from soybeans in its mix, the St. Paul Pioneer Press newspaper reported.

The state’s legislature passed the law in 2002, but plants that make the finished product started and the blend ready. The largest of those plants can process 30 million gallons of biodiesel a year, the paper reported.

Some in the state were concerned that taxpayers were required to subsidize biodiesel and now are required to use it, the paper reported. And some truckers and other diesel users worry how a biodiesel blend will perform, particularly in the state’s cold winters, the paper said.

But biodiesel backers say they are not worried, citing research showing that biodiesel will be able to perform well, the Pioneer Press reported.