Newly published research from the University of Idaho and U.S. Department of Agriculture shows a strong energy balance for biodiesel produced from soybean oil – for every unit of fossil energy needed to produce biodiesel, the return is 4.5 units of energy.

The USDA/Idaho study finds key drivers that continue to make biodiesel an efficient fuel choice:

• New seed varieties and management practices are upping soybean yields.
• Farmers have minimized cultivation of the soil, which reduce tillage practices that have cut how much fuel they need to grow soybeans.
• Modern soybean varieties have reduced the need for pesticides.
• Today's soybean processing and biodiesel plants are more energy efficient.

And that's just the beginning. Full report is available from this page (click on "Papers and Reports").