The B.C. government is moving to protect a nascent biofuel industry by requiring all biodiesel sold in B.C. be made in Canada.
Starting in April, under the Low Carbon Fuel Standard, the biofuel content requirements for diesel sold in B.C. will need to be met with biofuels made in Canada.
Today's announcement comes one day after Conservative MLA Keil Giddens put forward a private members bill to amend the Low Carbon Fuels Amendment Act, in an attempt to save a new biofuel refinery in Prince George from going under.
Adrian Dix, minister of Energy and Climate Solutions, announced Thursday that his government will require all biodiesel sold in B.C. to be made in Canada, starting April 1.
In January 2026, the renewable-fuel requirement for diesel will increase from four to eight per cent. Also in January 2026, the minimum five per cent renewable-fuel requirement for gasoline will also have to be met with renewable fuels produced in Canada.
"Today we're doubling the size of the market, and supporting Canadian companies in a substantive way," Dix said.
The changes are aimed at protecting B.C.'s nascent biofuel industry, which is threatened by cheaper, subsidized biofuels that have been flooding into B.C. from the U.S.
“By ensuring more of our fuels come from Canadian producers, we’re giving them the certainty and stability they need to grow and to thrive,” Dix said.
By increasing the requirements for biodiesel from four to eight per cent, Dix said the intent is to grow the market for biofuels in B.C.
In announcing the changes, Dix credited Giddens, a Conservative MLA, for bringing the concerns about the current situation to the forefront.
“I really appreciate the work he’s done and the attention he’s drawn to this issue,” Dix said.
B.C.’s low carbon fuel standard requires gasoline and diesel to be blended with biofuels – made from products like canola oils and animal fats – to reduce their carbon emissions intensity.
Biofuel producers like Tidewater Renewables (TSX:LCFS) receive emissions credits on biodiesel sales.
This has helped create a domestic market for biofuel production, but just as the industry is getting up and running, it faces competition from the U.S. – competition that has driven Tidewater Renewables' new biodiesel refinery in Prince George close to insolvency.
“Tidewater Renewables in Prince George — a critical asset producing renewable diesel —is facing insolvency due to unfair government policies that allow American fuel producers to flood our market with subsidized diesel while claiming BC’s low-carbon fuel credits,” Giddens said in a press release.
American producers of renewable fuels are “double dipping” on subsidies provided by governments in the U.S. and in B.C., Giddens said. In the U.S., producers receive production subsidies, and when they sell biodiesel into B.C., they can receive emissions credits.
The result has been that Canada is suddenly flooded by cheap biofuels from the U.S., which has collapsed a biofuels credit market on which domestic biofuel production relies.
“There are U.S. renewable diesel refiners, in Louisiana primarily, that are gaining access to B.C.’s credit market for low-carbon fuels, but at the same time, under the former President (Joe) Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, they are able to get significant production credits and subsidies both at the state and federal level on the U.S. side,” Giddens explained.
“Tidewater Renewables is a first of its kind in Canada, and right now they’re being undercut by the American refiners that are double-dipping in both the production subsidies on the U.S. side and B.C.’s low carbon fuel credits.”
