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Minnesota consumers benefit most from B20 mandate

The CEO of the Minnesota Soybean Growers says consumers benefit the most from the B20 mandate.

Effective May 1st, every gallon of diesel fuel sold in Minnesota will contain 20 percent biodiesel, as prescribed by law.

Tom Slunecka tells Brownfield the mandate rewards farmers, the renewable fuels industry, and consumers.

“The consumers of Minnesota are the big winners today.  They’re getting better, cleaner air because biodiesel is in our fuel tanks.  They’re getting the benefit of an industry that was born here in Minnesota.  It’s produced here, it’s consumed here.  So all the taxes stay right here.”

He calls the B20 mandate the perfect value-added proposition that all Minnesota consumers should be proud of.

Slunecka would like to see consumers in other states gain from higher blends of biodiesel.

“There are a lot of vehicles that can run on higher levels of (biodiesel).  And on home-heating fuels, we’re demonstrating on the East Coast in huge volume that B100 works fantastic for heat.”

The Minnesota Biodiesel program, created in 2002, began with a 2 percent requirement.

Slunecka says it was a long, hard fight getting to the 20 percent level.