Aug 15 (Reuters) - Five new renewable diesel production

plants opened last year, boosting U.S. output of the drop-in

diesel substitute and other emerging biofuels by 44% to 282,000

barrels-per-day (bpd), U.S. Energy Information Administration

(EIA) data showed on Thursday.

Two renewable diesel plants opened in both the U.S. Gulf

Coast and West Coast, while one facility opened on the East

Coast, taking the countrywide total to 22, according to the EIA

data. West Coast capacity was two and a half times higher at the

start of this year than last, at 82,000 bpd.

U.S. fuel makers have rushed to add renewable diesel

facilities to their portfolios in recent years, seeking ways to

survive the transition away from their petroleum-based products.

Renewable diesel is more expensive to make, and its production

and imports have been heavily subsidized by the federal

government and some state-level governments.

However, that rush has forced some biodiesel producers out

of the market, as that older-generation biofuel can only be used

on blending into renewable diesel, and attracts lower financial

incentives.

Three biofuel plants shuttered over the past year, one each

on the East Coast, West Coast and in the Midwest, the EIA data

showed. Analysts expect more biodiesel plants to shutter if they

don't get more government support.

However, biodiesel output capacity was largely unchanged at

approximately 136,000 barrels per day, according to the EIA

data.

In terms of ethanol output, one plant shuttered on the East

Coast but a larger facility opened on the Gulf Coast, boosting

output capacity by 2% to 1.18 million bpd from the 187 plants in

operation at the start of this year.