Clean Fuels Applauds EPA’s Final 2026-2027 RFS Rules

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March 27, 2026

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(Clean Fuels Alliance America) Today, Clean Fuels Alliance America thanked the Environmental Protection Agency for finalizing robust biomass-based diesel volumes in the 2026-27 Renewable Fuel Standard rule. The RFS rule provides much-needed certainty to biodiesel and renewable diesel producers and other stakeholders in the clean fuel value chain, including farmers, feedstock providers, and oilseed processors.

Kurt Kovarik, Clean Fuels’ Vice President of Federal Affairs, stated, “The entire U.S. clean fuel industry – from farmers and feedstock providers to fuel customers – is grateful to see this rule finalized. U.S. biodiesel, renewable diesel, and SAF producers are eager to get to work and bring the 7 billion gallons of existing production capacity up to speed to meet 10% or more of America’s demand for diesel fuel.”

In 2025, biodiesel and renewable diesel facilities were forced to shut down or run far below prior-year production levels due to market uncertainty. U.S. biodiesel production declined by one-third in 2025, compared to 2024.

Kovarik continued, “The robust biomass-based diesel volumes set in this rule support America’s farmers and consumers. Biodiesel and renewable diesel represent 10% of the value of every bushel of U.S.-grown soybeans, contributing to President Trump’s desire for American energy dominance and domestic market demand for agriculture commodities. American farmers and other feedstock providers are eager for the growing domestic clean fuel market to drive value in agriculture, along with economic growth and job creation in rural communities. American consumers are desperate for secure, affordable domestic energy. Today’s rule is a clear win for the nation’s energy security.”

Last year, Clean Fuels coordinated with all industry stakeholders to advocate a robust RFS biomass-based diesel volume of at least 5.25 billion gallons for 2026. EPA delivered effective volumes of 8.86 billion RINs for 2026 and 8.95 billion RINs for 2027.

EPA is setting supplemental volumes to account for the economic harm that small refinery exemptions inflict on U.S. farmers, oilseed processors, and the biomass-based diesel industry: 210 million RINs in 2026 and 250 million RINs in 2027. EPA’s rule also contains a mechanism to account for projected small refinery exemptions in 2026 and 2027; this will ensure that the required volumes set today are met over the next two years.

ABOUT CLEAN FUELS ALLIANCE AMERICA

Made from an increasingly diverse mix of resources such as recycled cooking oil, soybean oil, and animal fats, the clean fuels industry is a proven, integral part of America’s clean energy future. Clean Fuels Alliance America is the U.S. trade association representing the entire biodiesel, renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel supply chain, including producers, feedstock suppliers and fuel distributors. Clean Fuels receives funding from a broad mix of private companies and associations, including the United Soybean Board and state checkoff organizations. READ MORE

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RFA Welcomes 2026-27 RFS Volume Obligations (Renewable Fuels Association)
Growth Energy Celebrates Historic RVOs and SRE Reallocation (Growth Energy)

Excerpt from Renewable Fuels Association: The Renewable Fuels Association today welcomed the release of long-awaited final Renewable Fuel Standard volume obligations for 2026 and 2027. Today’s RFS rule supports continued growth in American-made renewable fuels like ethanol and brings much-needed certainty and stability to the marketplace, according to RFA.

“At a time when American consumers are looking for relief at the pump and hard-hit farmers are looking for new demand opportunities, we commend EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin and President Donald Trump for delivering robust RFS volume requirements for 2026 and 2027,” said RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper. “The final rule locks in the highest-ever renewable fuel volume obligations and provides clarity for farmers, ethanol producers, oil refiners, and fuel distributors alike. Today’s action by EPA and the White House will boost the farm economy, strengthen American energy security, and reduce fuel prices for hardworking families. We applaud the Trump administration for recognizing the important role renewable fuels and agriculture can play in meeting our nation’s energy dominance objectives.”

EPA’s final rule requires 15 billion gallons of conventional renewable fuels like corn ethanol in both 2026 and 2027. In addition, 10.82 advanced biofuels RINs are required in 2026, increasing to 10.98 billion RINs in 2027. EPA will also reallocate 70 percent of the renewable fuel volumes lost to small refinery exemptions (SREs) for 2023-2025, effectively restoring 2.03 billion gallons of previously lost demand.

RFA noted that by not fully reallocating the renewable fuel volumes lost to SREs issued for 2023-2025, today’s rule stops just short of providing farmers and ethanol producers the market expansion opportunity Congress envisioned in establishing the RFS program.

Cooper noted that while RFA advocated for full reallocation of the 2023-2025 SREs, the 70 percent reallocation included in today’s rule is better than other options that were under consideration. EPA had proposed 50 percent reallocation as an option and also solicited public feedback on no reallocation at all.

“We continue to believe small refinery exemptions are completely unjustified, and the SRE petition process—including EPA’s reliance on the Department of Energy’s ‘scoring matrix’—is fundamentally flawed,” Cooper said. “SREs distort the market, undermine fair competition, and destabilize the RFS program. And while RFA appreciates EPA’s efforts to minimize market disruptions by reallocating most of the renewable volume lost to SREs, we believe the Agency has a duty to fully restore all exempted volumes.” READ MORE

Excerpt from Growth Energy: Growth Energy, the nation’s largest biofuel trade association, applauded President Donald Trump, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin, and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Brooke Rollins for helping to deliver the largest renewable volume obligations (RVOs) in the nation’s history. Growth Energy also welcomed news that EPA would account for a number of small refinery exemptions (SREs) by reallocating 70% of those volumes.

“With this rulemaking, EPA and the administration are reinforcing their unwavering support for American-made biofuels and sending a strong signal about the continued role biofuels like ethanol will play in delivering American energy dominance and greater prosperity to the heartland,” said Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor. “We commend President Trump, EPA Administrator Zeldin, and USDA Secretary Rollins for working together to finalize this historic, growth-oriented proposal, which opens the market for more than 15 billion gallons of conventional biofuel in 2026 and 2027.

“USDA also deserves our industry’s thanks for its advocacy on behalf of American farmers—the agency worked tirelessly to ensure that the final RVOs reflected the President’s agenda for unleashing American energy and restoring prosperity to rural America. With so many farm families struggling to make ends meet, we must take every opportunity to build reliable, domestic markets for American agriculture.

“Furthermore, we applaud EPA for making the decision to reallocate 70% of all gallons lost to 2023-2025 SREs. This provides clarity and predictability across the liquid fuel supply chain, while guaranteeing that the new markets promised to American farmers and biofuel producers as part of the RVOs are not destroyed by costly exemptions.

“We are grateful to President Trump and his administration for its steadfast support for homegrown biofuels, and for setting a new high watermark for American ethanol. We look forward to continuing our work with EPA and Congressional champions as we continue to find ways to strengthen domestic energy security and open new market opportunities for U.S. farmers and rural communities.”

BACKGROUND

Under the RFS, EPA sets the number of gallons of renewable fuels (such as biofuels) that must be blended into the nation’s total fuel supply each year. Those renewable volume obligations (RVOs) apply to fuel producers (petroleum refiners) and importers, otherwise known as “obligated parties.”  Each obligated party is required to blend a certain percentage of renewable fuels into the transportation fuel they produce or import to meet the nationwide RVO. The law also allows EPA to grant exemptions from RFS blending requirements to certain refiners (SREs) in rare circumstances when a refiner demonstrates “disproportionate economic hardship” in its efforts to comply with the RFS.

On June 13, 2025, EPA proposed RVOs for 2026-2027, proposing that refiners must blend at least 15 billion gallons of conventional biofuels (i.e., ethanol) into the nation’s fuel blend for each plan year. The RVO proposal—also called the Set 2—also included requirements to blend more than one billion gallons of cellulosic biofuel, more than seven billion gallons of biomass-based diesel, and more than nine billion gallons of advanced biofuel for each plan year. Altogether, EPA’s proposal would require the blending of more than 24 billion gallons of renewable fuel each year, making it the largest RVO proposal in the program’s history.

On August 22, 2025, EPA released its decisions on 175 pending SRE petitions, covering compliance years 2016-2024. In all, EPA granted a total of 140 petitions: 63 full exemptions and 77 partial (50%) exemptions.

At the time, EPA also announced that it would release a supplemental proposal to its proposed Set 2 RVO to reallocate exempt SRE gallons from 2023-2025 compliance years to the 2026 and 2027 compliance years covered by Set 2. Although it had not yet issued decisions on 2025 SRE petitions, EPA estimated upwards of 2.1 billion 2023-2025 RINs were potentially subject to reallocation. Under this approach, refiners would be required to make up for lost gallons from those years, ensuring that SREs don’t compromise renewable fuel demand.

EPA released the supplemental proposal on SRE reallocation on September 16, 2025. It indicated that the agency is considering accounting for “volumes representing complete (100 percent) reallocation and 50 percent reallocation for SREs granted in full or in part for 2023 and 2024, as well as those projected to be granted for 2025, as part of the ongoing RFS rulemaking.” Growth Energy provided substantive comment in response to EPA’s proposal.

In November 2025, EPA also issued decisions on 16 SRE petitions for the 2021 through 2024 RVO compliance years. EPA granted 2 full exemptions and 14 partial (50%) exemptions and denied 2 petitions. The November 2025 exemptions totaled 740 million RINs, 510 million of which were for the 2023 and 2024 RVO compliance years. READ MORE