The National Biodiesel Board forwarded a letter from 179 biodiesel companies and stakeholders to the leadership of the U.S. House and Senate as well as to the chairmen and ranking members of the tax-writing committees regarding the need to retroactively extend the $1 biodiesel tax credit, according to a news release from the NBB.

The biodiesel tax incentive expired on Dec. 31, 2009. Industry officials have said that without the tax credit, the biodiesel industry virtually has shut down.

The letter notes, among other things, "expiration of the tax incentive has essentially caused the production and use of biodiesel in the U.S. to cease and has placed the 23,000 jobs that are currently supported by the domestic biodiesel industry in immediate jeopardy. Companies have already started laying-off employees, and this situation is certain to worsen the longer the tax incentive is allowed to lapse."

The biodiesel tax credit makes biodiesel price competitive with petroleum diesel fuel in the marketplace.

Absent the tax incentive, biodiesel is more expensive than conventional diesel fuel.

"The sentiment expressed in this letter accurately reflects the dire situation facing the U.S. biodiesel industry," NBB's Vice President of Federal Affairs Manning Feraci said in a statement. "Biodiesel producers are hanging on by a thread, idling their plants, laying off employees, and closing their doors. As these letters indicate, it is imperative for Congress to act quickly and save these green jobs."