US EPA finalizes renewable fuel volumes for 2023-2025, drops eRIN provisions
21 June 2023
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final rule under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program that establishes the biofuel volume requirements for 2023 to 2025. Relative to the December 2022 proposal, the EPA increased the renewable volume targets for 2023 and lowered the 2024 and 2025 mandates. The agency has also dropped the controversial electric vehicle renewable fuel credit (eRIN) provisions from the final rule.
The final rule establishes the biofuel volume requirements and associated percentage standards for cellulosic biofuel, biomass-based diesel (BBD), advanced biofuel, and total renewable fuel for 2023–2025. It also completes EPA’s response to a court remand of the 2016 annual rule by establishing a supplemental volume requirement of 250 million gallons of renewable fuel for 2023. The final volume targets are as follows:
| 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cellulosic biofuel | 0.84 | 1.09 | 1.38 |
| Biomass-based diesel* | 2.82 | 3.04 | 3.35 |
| Advanced biofuel | 5.94 | 6.54 | 7.33 |
| Renewable fuel | 20.94 | 21.54 | 22.33 |
| Supplemental standard | 0.25 | n/a | n/a |
|
† One RIN is equivalent to one ethanol-equivalent gallon of renewable fuel * Biomass-based diesel is in billion gallons | |||
The rule includes steady growth of biofuel volumes for 2023, 2024, and 2025. The Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007 does not specify statutory volumes after 2022, and the EPA established the final biofuel volume targets under the “set” authority provided by the Clean Air Act.
In the final rule, the EPA has withdrawn the proposed eRIN scheme that would give EV manufacturers tradable RFS credits. The plan would have given EV automakers, such as Tesla, credits for charging vehicles using power generated from renewable natural gas, or methane collected from sources such as cattle or land fills. The EPA said in a press release it will continue to work on potential paths forward for the eRIN program. According to Reuters, the agency dropped the eRIN scheme from the final rule over concerns it could trigger lawsuits.
Source: US EPA