The Environmental Protection Agency plans to reallocate more than 770 million renewable fuel blending credits. These were granted through small refinery exemptions. The decision aims to preserve demand for ethanol and biodiesel. According to Progressive Farmer, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced the proposal during a visit to Iowa. He said the agency wants to ensure exemptions granted to 29 refiners do not reduce overall renewable fuel blending requirements.
The proposal would protect the equivalent of 770 million gallons of ethanol from being waived under the Renewable Fuels Standard. Iowa Capital Dispatch reports EPA is considering either spreading the exempted credits across the 2026 and 2027 compliance years or applying them entirely to 2027. Reuters reported that the exemptions, totaling more than 1.7 billion renewable identification numbers – aka RINs – were the largest ever issued under the program. That drew criticism from biofuel and farm groups. Renewable Fuels Association CEO Geoff Cooper told Reuters that EPA’s reallocation plan, if finalized as proposed, will offset the demand loss for ethanol producers and farmers.
-NAFB