EPA Publishes Final 2017 RFS Requirements
On December 12, 2016, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a final rule, Renewable Fuel Standard Program: Standards for 2017 and Biomass-Based Diesel Volume for 2018, in the Federal Register. This final rule sets the annual percentage standards for cellulosic biofuel, biomass-based diesel, advanced biofuel, and total renewable fuel for motor vehicle gasoline and diesel produced or imported in 2017, as reported in the Biobased and Renewable Products Advocacy Group’s (BRAG®) blog post EPA Signs Final RFS Requirements. The proposed volume requirements are:
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Cellulosic biofuel, from 230 million gallons in 2016 to 311 million gallons in 2017 ; |
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Advanced biofuel, from 3.61 billion gallons in 2016 to 4.28 billion gallons in 2017 ; |
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Renewable fuel, from 18.11 billion gallons in 2016 to 19.28 billion gallons in 2017 ; and |
| ? | Biomass-based diesel, from 2 billion gallons in 2017 to 2.1 billion gallons in 2018 . |
These volumes change the percentage standards to 0.173 percent for cellulosic biofuel, 2.38 percent for advanced biofuel, 10.70 percent for renewable fuel, and 1.67 percent for biomass-based diesel. This final rule becomes effective on February 10, 2017.