New EPA statistics released resently show the biodiesel industry has cracked the 1 billion gallon mark for the third consecutive year, with several months of production remaining.

Biodiesel is the first EPA-designated Advanced Biofuel to reach commercial-scale production nationwide and 1 billion gallons of annual production. With plants in almost every state in the country, the industry has surpassed RFS targets since the program began while using an increasingly diverse mix of resources such as recycled cooking oil, soybean oil and animal fats.

The latest production figures, which cover volumes reported through September, show that the industry produced 140 million gallons in September, for a year-to-date biodiesel total of nearly 1.1 billion gallons.

EPA’s production volumes are reported under the Biomass-based Diesel category of the RFS. The monthly numbers show a total of nearly 167 million gallons under the Biomass-based Diesel category for the month of September. That total includes some 27 million gallons of renewable diesel, a diesel replacement similar to biodiesel that uses a different technology.

For the year, total Biomass-based Diesel production under the RFS stands at more than 1.2 billion gallons, on pace to reach some 1.7 billion gallons by year’s end, significantly exceeding the RFS requirement of 1.28 billion gallons.