Clean Fuels Alliance America thanked EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin for releasing the overdue proposed rule to set 2026 and 2027 Renewable Fuel Standard volumes and taking action to get the program back on schedule. Clean Fuels along with trade associations representing farmers, feedstock providers, and fuel marketers unified in advocating a biomass-based diesel volume of no less than 5.25 billion gallons for 2026 and are pleased to see the robust step-change in proposed volumes and obligation percentages. Clean Fuels welcomes the opportunity to carefully evaluate the proposed program changes, which include setting biomass-based diesel volumes in RIN equivalence.
EPA’s proposal makes a much-needed step-change in biomass-based diesel volumes for both 2026 and 2027. At the same time, EPA proposes to change the RIN generation values of imported fuel and U.S. fuel made from imported feedstock. Clean Fuels looks forward to carefully evaluating this proposal and its potential impacts on the market.
POET, the world’s largest producer of biofuels, issued a statement today welcoming the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed rule setting volume requirements under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) for 2026 and 2027:
“Today’s announcement from the EPA should provide much-needed, long-awaited certainty to our farmers and biofuel producers,” said Joshua Shields, POET’s Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications. “By bolstering the RFS, we are strengthening the farm economy, supporting American energy dominance, and providing broader access to homegrown biofuels. By strengthening RVOs, we are making affordable, homegrown fuel available to drivers across the country. This action reflects the Trump Administration’s firm commitment to the American farmer and our rural communities, and we look forward to working alongside them as they seek to finalize the rule later this year.”
American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) CEO Brian Jennings issued the following statement after the proposal’s release:
“The stakes are high for this next phase of the RFS. Ethanol producers and farmers are under tremendous economic pressure, particularly due to uncertainty caused by current efforts to reorder international trade, and we need EPA to substantially increase domestic ethanol blending under the RFS in 2026 and 2027.
“This rulemaking is a pivotal opportunity for the Trump administration to fully utilize the RFS statutory authorities by setting ambitious blending targets that reflect the critical role American ethanol plays in strengthening U.S. energy security, boosting rural economies, and reducing prices at the pump. While we’re encouraged the Agency has indicated it intends to move quickly toward finalizing the 2026-2027 RVOs, ACE will continue urging EPA to use its statutory authority to ensure conventional biofuel volumes are well above 15-billion gallons to support a growing U.S. ethanol industry.
“Our forthcoming comments will also emphasize the importance of projecting and reallocating small refinery exemptions (SREs) to provide greater certainty and uphold the integrity of the RFS program, as well as stress the need for EPA to adopt the most current GREET model for accurately accounting lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions — emissions that continue to trend lower for ethanol.”
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