Promises in Bloom: The RVO Reset and Springtime for the Bioeconomy

March 30, 2026

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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...(T)he final “Set 2” Renewable Fuel Standard volume requirements for 2026 and 2027. Not a tweak. A reset. After seasons of regulatory uncertainty and economic headwinds, President Donald Trump and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin delivered what many across the heartland are calling a historic realignment—one that returns the program to its original intent: putting American farmers first, prioritizing homegrown fuels, and restoring forward motion to a system that had, at times, stalled.

In the twentieth year of the Renewable Fuel Standard, the new rule sets volumes at the highest levels in the program’s history. The EPA estimates more than $10 billion in economic impact for rural America and over 100,000 jobs created across agriculture and manufacturing. But numbers alone don’t tell the story. They move.

The Numbers That Move

The volumes arrive in full stride.

26.81 billion RINs in 2026. 27.02 billion in 2027. Not incremental growth—acceleration. Biomass-based diesel climbs to 9.07 billion RINs, then 9.20. Advanced biofuels stretch higher, to 11.10 and 11.32. Cellulosic, still the smallest stream, continues its steady advance—1.36 to 1.43. And anchoring it all: 15 billion gallons of conventional biofuel, held firm, a signal of continuity in a system that has not always offered it.

To meet these levels, biodiesel and renewable diesel production must rise more than 60 percent from 2025. The payoff: a projected reduction of roughly 300,000 barrels per day in foreign oil dependence.

This is not inventory. This is motion returning to the system.

From Moment to Memory

Policy moments come and go. Systems remember.

What matters now is whether this day becomes structure—plants restarted, capital returning, feedstocks flowing—or whether it remains what Washington sometimes produces best: a beautiful morning in a garden, remembered mostly for the speech.

Voices in the Garden

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Across the industry, the response was immediate. Geoff Cooper of the Renewable Fuels Association pointed to long-sought clarity for producers and markets alike. Emily Skor emphasized the signal of durable commitment. Jed Bower called it certainty at a moment when certainty has been scarce. And for Chuck Grassley, who has carried this issue for decades, the moment carried the weight of memory—policy catching up, at last, with intent.

Three Structural Turns

But the real story isn’t just in the gallons.It’s in three structural turns—quiet revolutions embedded in the rule.

Act I: The SRE Reckoning
A 70 percent reallocation of small refinery exemptions restores nearly a billion RINs annually to the system—ensuring that obligations translate into actual blending, not accounting artifacts.

Act II: The Half-RIN Border
Beginning in 2028, foreign fuels and feedstocks receive half credit. A clear signal: domestic production takes priority, and the runway to scale it begins now.

Act III: Electricity Exits the Stage
Renewable electricity is formally removed from the RFS framework, returning the program to its statutory foundation—liquid and gaseous fuels, as originally intended.

Three moves. Each long debated. Each now decided.

A System Reawakens

Few sectors feel this shift more than biomass-based diesel. After a punishing 2025—plants idled, production down sharply—the new volumes offer something the industry has lacked: a pathway back. Producers are already signaling readiness to bring existing capacity—some 7 billion gallons—back into full use, potentially supplying more than 10 percent of U.S. diesel demand.

Looking to the Horizon

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There are still issues to resolve—regulatory refinements, market expansions, the continued push toward higher blends like E15—but the direction is unmistakable. The system is moving again.

The Garden, in Bloom

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And today, something long sought has come back into view. So let us enjoy it—fully, gratefully, without hesitation. Not as skeptics peering too closely at the gift, but as participants in it, stewards of what comes next. READ MORE

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Grassley Welcomes Trump Administration’s Record-Setting Biofuels Announcement (Office of Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA))

Excerpt from Office of Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA): “Four biodiesel plants in Iowa closed or idled after the Biden administration set RVOs too low. With today’s announcement, President Trump and Administrator Zeldin are bringing relief for Iowa farmers and biofuel producers and for every consumer who wants lower prices at the pump. Biofuels drive economic growth in rural communities and strengthen U.S. energy independence. That’s why I’m working so hard to get year-round, nationwide E15 enacted into permanent law,” Grassley said.

As part of the announcement, foreign fuels and feedstocks will receive half the RFS compliance value compared to American-made products starting in 2028. This gives domestic biofuel producers the ability to prepare for the change and benefit over foreign competition. Last year, Grassley led over 45 Senate and House colleagues in a letter urging EPA to finalize this policy.

EPA also announced it is finalizing a 70% partial reallocation of the 2023–2025 exempted RVOs for the 2026 and 2027 compliance years. This follows a push led by Grassley and U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) urging EPA to reallocate any gallons lost through the granting of small refinery exemptions (SREs). Strong reallocation ensures more RVOs are accounted for.

Background:

Since he helped establish the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) in the Energy Policy Act of 2005, Grassley has worked to ensure the executive branch implements the law as intended. Grassley also supported the Energy Independence Security Act of 2007, which included requirements for cellulosic ethanol and set a mandatory RFS requiring fuel producers to use at least 36 billion gallons of biofuel by 2022. Grassley pushed ensuing administrations to keep to this number.

In 2023, Grassley joined the No Fuel Credits for Batteries Act to nullify a proposed Biden-era E-RINS rule that props up the electric vehicle industry while devaluing incentives for ethanol and biodiesel expansion.

Grassley has consistently led bicameral efforts to raise RVOs, including for the 2024-2025 RVOs as well as for 2026 and beyond. READ MORE