EPA Issues 2018 final volume requirements for renewable fuels

Jan. 3, 2018
Environmental Protection Agency Issues 2018 final volume requirements for renewable fuels

In December 2017, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued the final 2018 volume requirements for cellulosic biofuel, advanced biofuel, and total renewable fuel, as well as the 2019 requirements for biomass-based diesel under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) Program.

The RFS program requires certain volumes of renewable fuels to be used in transportation fuel, heating oil, or jet fuel.

EPA relied on its statutory waiver authority to set renewable fuel volume requirements below those outlined in the statute. The final requirements included a reduction in the cellulosic biofuel volumes from 311 million gallons (mgals) last year to 288 mgals in 2018. Both advanced biofuel and total renewable fuel volumes were increased by 10 mgals over the prior year, with new volume requirements at 4.29 and 19.29 billion gallons, respectively. The volume requirements for biomass-based diesel in 2019 remain unchanged from 2018, at 2.1 billion gallons.

EPA cited “slower-than-expected development of the cellulosic biofuel industry” as a reason for the cut in the cellulosic biofuel requirement.

Related