By Blake Haas
BLOOMINGTON – Legislation is headed to Gov. Pritzker’s desk to help soybean farmers across central Illinois.
The Illinois Soybean Growers Association is behind the B20 legislation, sponsored by State Sen. Patrick Joyce (D-Essex) and State Rep. Eva Dina Delgado (D-Chicago).
“Traditionally in Illinois, we use blends of what we call “B10 or B11,” so there are 10-11% biodiesel and 89-90% of traditional diesel fuel,” said Andrew Larson, Director of Marketing for the Soybean Association.
“That has reduced carbon emissions out of the tailpipe. Biodiesel has better air quality results by having less particulate matter come out of the tailpipe. So it’s a major initiative for the state of Illinois and for the Soybean Growers to use biodiesel.”
Through the legislation passed by both chambers of the General Assembly, the Association is extending the sales tax exemption to encourage the use of biodiesel.
“In transition, just one diesel truck to using V20, from where we are at today is the equivalent to taking five cars off of the road,” Larson told WJBC’s Todd Wineburner.
According to Larson, once the legislation is implemented, biodiesel would reduce Green House Gases emissions by nearly 200,000.
Blake Haas can be reached at [email protected].
