EPA issues final rule on biofuel requirements for 2023-25

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued a final rule under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program that establishes biofuel volume requirements for 2023 to 2025. The rule sets volume targets and associated percentage standards for cellulosic biofuel, advanced biofuel and total renewable fuel, which are measured in renewable identification numbers (RINs), and biomass-based diesel, which is measured in gallons. One RIN is equal to one ethanol-equivalent gallon of renewable fuel.  

“From day one, EPA has been committed to the growth of renewable fuels that play a critical role in diversifying our country’s energy mix and combatting climate change, all while providing good paying jobs and economic benefits to communities across the country,” says EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. He adds that the final rule “reflects our efforts to ensure stability of the program for years to come, protect consumers from high fuel costs, strengthen the rural economy, support domestic production of cleaner fuels and help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.” 

Though the final rule sets targets beyond 2022, which is the last year with statutory biofuel volumes under the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, some groups are disappointed with the specified amounts. Allen Schaeffer, executive director of The Diesel Technology Forum, Frederick, Maryland, says the volumes are disappointing and well below expectations. 

“Yet rather than issuing a robust and growth-oriented future volume set rule that expands the use of renewable diesel and biodiesel fuels to drive faster and deeper reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, the EPA touts it primarily as an energy security strategy to reduce 140,000 barrels of foreign oil imports.” 

President of the Advanced Biofuels Association (ABFA) Michael McAdams shares some of Schaeffer’s concerns. McAdams says the rule is a “missed opportunity” and contradicts growing biofuel production capacity in the U.S. 

“To arrest climate change, the Biden administration should leverage the tools at its disposal that can be deployed economically using our existing national fuel infrastructure,” he says. “By choosing not to reflect the available and growing supply of advanced biofuels in this three-year rule, the EPA is overlooking a chance to reduce 7 trillion pounds of CO2 from our atmosphere. This rule reneges on the Biden administration’s proclaimed vision for carbon reduction.  

“The Advanced Biofuels Association and our members believe in an all-of-the-above solution to our energy and climate challenges, inclusive of electrification and low-carbon advanced biofuels. However, the EPA’s latest ruling does not fully reflect the volumes of advanced, biomass-based diesel and cellulosic fuels available and could discourage continued investment in sustainable fuels that deliver up to an 80 percent reduction in emissions versus traditional fossil fuels.”   

Criticism over the final rule comes amid continuing demand from car manufacturers and biofuel producers that the Biden administration finalize proposed regulations on generating RINs from renewable electricity (eRINs). Co-CEO of Opal Fuels Adam Comora says creating more opportunities to generate eRINs is the path toward achieving EPAs goals in combatting climate change.  

“We appreciated the opportunity to stress how important and positive we believe the eRIN pathway would be to achieve the administration’s, Congress’ and the EPA’s goals to combat climate change and decarbonize the transportation sector,” Comora says. “There are hundreds and hundreds of smaller landfills and livestock waste methane streams that currently are not capturing their harmful methane emissions—with that methane escaping into the atmosphere as one of the most damaging greenhouse gas emissions.  

“These smaller projects are not large enough to justify a full-scale [renewable natural gas] facility, but they are perfect candidates for renewable electricity generation,” he continues “Currently, there are no other offtake markets for these projects—they need the eRIN pathway to get approved so the investments can be made, projects can be built, and we can further our progress to do the single most important thing we can do to combat climate change—the capturing of harmful methane emissions.” 

The EPA says it is working on ways to further the eRIN program, though it is still collecting and reviewing comments on the proposal to inform next steps. Though the targets in the final rule did not meet some expectations, the EPA says it has responded to a court remand of the 2016 annual rule by establishing a supplemental volume requirement of 250 million gallons of renewable fuel for 2023. No supplemental volumes are set for 2024 and ’25.  

Despite overarching critique of the final rule, McAdams says he appreciates the annual increase in volume of biomass-based diesel by 2025. 

“Although our request for a 500-million-gallon yearly increase in the biomass-based diesel pool was not met, our industry is appreciative that the rule ramps up to 460-million-gallons in the D4 pool by 2025,” McAdams says. “This boost serves as a commendable acknowledgement of the progress made by those of us involved in the delivery of renewable diesel, biodiesel and sustainable aviation fuel.  

“The ABFA will continue to work with the EPA, Department of Energy, United States Department of Agriculture and other key stakeholder groups to deliver the hundreds of millions of gallons of advanced biofuels that will not be mandatory under the RFS,” he concluded.