EPA Issues Final 2018 RFS Requirements
On November 30, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued its final 2018 volume requirements under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program for cellulosic biofuel, biomass-based diesel, advanced biofuel, and total renewable fuel. A pre-publication of the final rule is available now. The final rule sets the annual percentage standards for cellulosic biofuel, advanced biofuel, and total renewable fuel for motor vehicle gasoline and diesel produced or imported in 2018, as well as biomass-based diesel for 2019. The proposed volume requirements are:
- Cellulosic biofuel, from 311 million gallons in 2017 to 288 million gallons in 2018;
- Advanced biofuel, from 4.28 billion gallons in 2017 to 4.29 billion gallons in 2018;
- Renewable fuel, from 19.28 billion gallons in 2017 to 19.29 billion gallons in 2018; and
- Biomass-based diesel, 2.1 billion gallons in 2018 and 2019.?
The cellulosic biofuel, advanced biofuel, and renewable fuel volumes increased slightly from the values proposed in July 2017, as reported in the Biobased and Renewable Products Advocacy Group’s (BRAG®) blog post EPA Releases Proposed 2018 RFS Volume Requirements. These final volumes change the percentage standards to 0.159 percent for cellulosic biofuel, 2.37 percent for advanced biofuel, 10.67 percent for renewable fuel, and 1.74 percent for biomass-based diesel. This final rule becomes effective on 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.