California Air Resources Board Held A Workshop On The Low Carbon Fuel Standard

On April 3, 2015, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) held a
Public Workshop to discuss updates to the California-Modified
Greenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy Use in Transportation
(CA-GREET) Model, version 2.0, under the Low Carbon Fuel Standard
(LCFS). The update includes improved formulas to calculate Indirect Land Use
Change (ILUC), and an updated model for calculating lifecycle Carbon Intensity
(CI) values that is based on Argonne National Laboratory’s GREET model.
California is also proposing a two-tiered CI system for certifications and registrations,
with first-generation biofuels placing in tier one, and next-generation
advanced biofuels and any fuel using innovative production methods in tier two.
These changes were made as a result of a 2013 order by the State of California
Court of Appeal, Fifth Appellate District, to remedy legal issues from the
original version of the LCFS that had been adopted. Re-adoption of the updated
California LCFS will be considered at a hearing in July 2015.