Proposed Renewable Fuel Standards for 2017, and the Biomass-Based Diesel Volume for 2018

May 18, 2016

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(Environmental Protection Agency) EPA proposed increases in renewable fuel volume requirements across all types of biofuels under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program. These increases would boost production and provide for ambitious yet achievable growth. The proposed volume requirements and associated percentage standards for are for calendar year 2017 for cellulosic biofuel, biomass-based diesel, advanced biofuel, and total renewable fuel. EPA also proposed the volume requirement for biomass-based diesel for 2018.

Renewable Fuel Volumes **Requirements for 2014-2018**
	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
Cellulosic biofuel (million gallons)	33	123	230	312*	n/a
Biomass-based diesel (billion gallons)	1.63	1.73	1.90	2.00	2.1*
Advanced biofuel (billion gallons)	2.67	2.88	3.61	4.0*	n/a
Renewable fuel (billion gallons)	16.28	16.93	18.11	18.8*	n/a
(*Proposed Volume Requirements)

**Proposed 2017 Percentage Standards**
Cellulosic biofuel	0.173%
Biomass-based diesel	1.67%
Advanced biofuel	2.22%
Renewable fuel	10.44%

The proposed volumes would represent growth over historic levels:

Total renewable fuel volumes would grow by nearly 700 million gallons between 2016 and 2017.
Advanced renewable fuel – which requires fifty percent lifecycle carbon emissions reductions – would grow by nearly 400 million gallons between 2016 and 2017.
The non-advanced or “conventional” fuels portion of total renewable fuels – which requires a minimum of 20 percent lifecycle carbon emissions reductions - would increase by 300 million gallons between 2016 and 2017 and achieve 99 percent of the Congressional target of 15 billion gallons.
Biomass-based biodiesel – which must achieve at least 50 percent lifecycle emissions reductions - would grow by 100 million gallons between 2017 and 2018.
Cellulosic biofuel – which requires 60 percent lifecycle carbon emissions reductions- would grow by 82 million gallons, or 35 percent between 2016 and 2017.

EPA will hold a public hearing on this proposal on June 9, 2016, in Kansas City, Mo. The period for public input and comment will open until July 11.

For more information on today’s announcement, go to: http://www.epa.gov/renewable-fuel-standard-program/proposed-renewable-fuel-standards-2017-and-biomass-based-diesel.

Additional Resources

Pre-publication proposed rule.

Notice of proposed rule-making READ MORE / MORE and MORE (Biodiesel Magazine) and MORE (National Biodiesel Board) and MORE (The Washington Post) and MORE (Biofuels Digest; includes industry and other reactions) and MORE (Americans for Energy Security and Innovation) and MORE (Wall Street Journal) and MORE (Environmental Leader) and MORE (Reuters) and MORE (Ethanol Producer Magazine) and MORE (Bloomberg) and MORE / MORE / MORE (DomesticFuel.com; includes AUDIO) and MORE (AgriPulse; includes AUDIO) and MORE (Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association) and MORE (Omaha.com) and MORE (The Heartland Institute) and MORE (The Washington Times) and MORE (Environmental and Energy Study Institute)

Excerpt from The Washington Post: U.S. regulators proposed Wednesday a modest increase in the amount of corn-based ethanol and biofuels that fuel companies must mix into diesel and gasoline next year, a move that will probably disappoint two of the biggest U.S. industries: oil and farming.

In a statement, the Environmental Protection Agency called for 18.8 billion gallons to be blended into the nation’s fuel supply in 2017, up 4 percent from the 18.11 billion gallons set for this year.

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The rise was smaller than the amount backed by the farm lobby and biofuels companies such as Archer Daniels Midland and Poet, which have spent millions to produce advanced biofuels. The oil industry opposed any increase. READ MORE

Excerpt from Bloomberg: “The agency continues to cater to the oil industry by relying upon an illegal interpretation of its waiver authority and concern over a blend wall that the oil industry itself is creating,” Bob Dinneen, head of the Renewable Fuels Association, said in an e-mailed statement. “As a consequence, consumers are being denied higher octane, lower cost renewable fuels. Investments in new technology and advanced biofuels will continue to languish and greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles will be unnecessarily higher.”

Brooke Coleman, executive director of the Advanced Biofuels Business Council, said the proposed targets don’t live up to the goals of the Renewable Fuel Standard: to drive the commercialization and use of low-carbon alternatives on U.S. roads.

“If the administration wants our industry to be aggressive when it comes to financing and commercializing low carbon fuels in the United States, as they have asked us to do, they need to hold up their end of the bargain and make some critical adjustments to the RFS final rule,” Coleman said in an e-mailed statement.

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Similarly, DuPont, the chemical and agribusiness company, said in a statement it was "disappointed" with the proposal, because the numbers reflect infrastructure constraints -- such as too few E15 and E85 filling stations -- instead of producers’ ability to supply biofuels. READ MORE