China Biodiesel Industry Encourages Foreign Investments

On January 23, 2015, China’s
National Energy Administration issued a biodiesel industry development plan
(available in Chinese) to improve the biodiesel sector. The plan
encouraged the production of cleaner fuels as well as the use of renewable
fuels by promoting foreign companies’ participation in the industry; mergers,
acquisitions, and restructuring of domestic biodiesel companies; and fuel
blending of biodiesel. The plan will initially focus on the areas with the most
air pollution controls, including Beijing-Tianjin Province and Hebei Province
and the area around the Yangtze River Delta. New standards on the production of
biodiesel should improve the environmental impact of biodiesel production as
restrictions on the energy, freshwater, and waste disposal of the production go
into effect within two years.