Yes, biodiesel is a renewable fuel, because the fuel is made from a renewable resource – vegetable oils or animal fats. However, the production of biodiesel generally does use some fossil fuels (for example, diesel for farm equipment to grow the oilseed crop, and natural gas to power the biodiesel production plant). Therefore, biodiesel is generally not 100% renewable.
The latest analysis of the renewability of biodiesel shows that the energy in the fuel itself is 4.56 times the fossil fuel energy used to produce it. Therefore, biodiesel is renewable.
The renewability of a fuel is assessed using a tool called “life cycle analysis.” For more information, see Energy Life Cycle Analysis of Biodiesel.
