Biofuel penetration on the West Coast is displacing petroleum distillate

Biofuel penetration on the West Coast is displacing petroleum distillate. Incentive programs, such as California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard, are driving increased production, shipments from other U.S. regions, and imports of biofuels, such as renewable diesel. 

Renewable diesel is chemically identical to petroleum-based distillate fuel produced from refining crude oil, but it is made from renewable feedstocks, such as soybean oil or used cooking oil. As a result, petroleum refiners on the U.S. West Coast are shifting production from petroleum-based distillate fuel to jet fuel, as the region requires less petroleum-based distillate to meet end-use consumption. In petroleum refining, distillate and jet fuel are two petroleum products with similar boiling ranges and other chemical properties, making production switches relatively easy.  

Jet fuel yields for West Coast refineries averaged an all-time high of more than 20% in 2024 and were up four percentage points compared with 2010. This growth is outpaced only by the U.S. East Coast (PADD 1), where the Delta Airlines’ owned Trainer Refinery in Pennsylvania began ramping up jet fuel production after operations began in late 2012 and was re-designed specifically for high jet fuel production.