EPA Finalizes New Renewable Fuel Standards for 2023-2025
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its final rule to establish renewable volume obligations under the Renewable Fuel Standard program for 2023-2025 on June 21. This also included associated percentage standards for cellulosic biofuel, biomass-based diesel, advanced biofuel and total renewable fuel.
The final rule also 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.
[Read more: EPA Grants Emergency Waiver for Summer E15 Sales]
The EPA specifically requires 20.94 billion gallons of renewable fuel in 2023, 21.54 billion gallons of renewable fuel in 2024, and 22.23 billion gallons of renewable fuel for 2025 under the terms of the final rule. The volumes previously set in statute by Congress ended in 2022.
However, the EPA did not include its eRINs proposal to establish an eRINs program that would have only allowed automobile manufacturers to generate a RIN when electricity is produced from a qualifying renewable biomass, marking a significant departure from its draft rule, reported NACS.
In February, NACS announced its opposition to the eRINS proposal and joined with NATSO and SIGMA in submitting joint industry comment during the public comment period expressing concerns that the volumes for advanced biofuel were lower than they should have been.
NACS stated that the EPA's decision to keep eRINS as they were proposed out of the final rule "an important win for the industry."
The organization also previously joined with a broad coalition of energy and agriculture organizations calling on Congress to adopt legislation that would allow for year-round E15 sales, as Convenience Store News reported.
Alexandria, Va.-based NACS is a global trade association dedicated to advancing convenience and fuel retailing. NACS advances the role of convenience stores as positive economic, social and philanthropic contributors to the communities they serve, and is a trusted adviser to retailer and supplier members from more than 50 countries.