MINNEAPOLIS – Gov. Tim Pawlenty wants to raise Minnesota’s biodiesel mandate from 2 percent to 20 percent, according to the Pioneer Press. Pawlenty recently proposed raising, step by step, the level of biodiesel that must be blended into every gallon of diesel fuel sold in Minnesota. If the legislature agrees, the first step to five percent could come next year, and the level would reach 20 percent by 2015.

Minnesota currently is home to five biodiesel plants that together can produce 67 million gallons of biodiesel a year. That’s four times what Minnesota needs to meet the current two-percent mandate.

As part of a statewide green-energy initiative, Pawlenty wants 20 percent of all Minnesota motor fuels made from renewable sources. State officials also would get new powers to lift the mandate in case new problems arose.