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The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Rural Business-Cooperative Service published a final rule on July 9, 2026, that incorporates revisions intended to clarify, improve, and enhance the delivery of the Biorefinery, Renewable Chemical, and Biobased Product Manufacturing Program’s loan guarantees. 91 Fed. Reg. 42335. The program provides loan guarantees up to $250 million to eligible applicants to develop advanced biofuels, renewable chemicals, and biobased-products manufacturing...

On April 1, 2026, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final rule establishing the applicable volumes and percentage standards for 2026 and 2027 for cellulosic biofuel, biomass-based diesel (BBD), advanced biofuel, and total renewable fuel. 91 Fed. Reg. 16388. The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) “Set 2” final rule also partially waives the 2025 cellulosic biofuel volume requirement and revises the associated percentage standard due to a shortfall in cellulosic biofuel...

Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) announced on October 2, 2025, that he led over 45 Senate and House colleagues in urging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to issue a final rule on imported Renewable Identification Numbers (RIN) and hold firm on the proposed biomass-based diesel volumes. As reported in our June 18, 2025, blog item, the proposed rule would reduce the number of RINs generated for imported renewable fuel and renewable fuel produced from foreign feedstocks. The bipartisan,...

As reported in our June 18, 2025, blog item, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed in June 2025 the applicable volumes and percentage standards for 2026 and 2027 for cellulosic biofuel, biomass-based diesel (BBD), advanced biofuel, and total renewable fuel. On September 18, 2025, EPA issued a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking (SNPRM) that revises the proposed Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) “Set 2” renewable volume obligations (RVO) for 2026 and 2027 to account for...

The Clean Air Act (CAA) requires the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to determine the applicable volume requirements for the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) for years after those specified in the statute. On June 17, 2025, EPA proposed the applicable volumes and percentage standards for 2026 and 2027 for cellulosic biofuel, biomass-based diesel (BBD), advanced biofuel, and total renewable fuel. 90 Fed. Reg. 25784. EPA notes that the proposed rule also includes a number of regulatory...

On May 30, 2025, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) announced that it “removed barriers to domestic bioenergy production by updating its 45ZCF-GREET modeling tool to account for new feedstocks and methods of production, including ethanol from corn wet-milling and natural gas from coal-mine methane.” According to BETO, these measures will allow a wider range of farmers and companies to do business in the alternative fuels market. BETO notes that the U.S....

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on April 28, 2025, that it has issued an emergency fuel waiver allowing the sale of gasoline blended with 15 percent ethanol (E15) nationwide in summer 2025. EPA notes that this is consistent with President Trump’s Executive Order (EO) Declaring a National Energy Emergency, directing EPA to consider issuing emergency waivers to allow for year-round E15 sales. According to EPA, currently, in about half of the country, E15 cannot be sold...

On March 31, 2025, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that it will release obligated funding under the Higher Blends Infrastructure Incentive Program (HBIIP) for 543 projects totaling $537 million in 29 states. According to the press release, USDA is “aggressively exploring additional ways to unleash American energy and incentivize the production and use of homegrown U.S. biofuels, including working alongside the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop Renewable...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final rule on March 14, 2025, extending the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) compliance reporting deadline for the 2024 compliance year. 90 Fed. Reg. 12109. As reported in our January 8, 2025, blog item, EPA published a proposed rule on December 12, 2024, that would partially waive the 2024 cellulosic biofuel volume requirement and revise the associated percentage standard under the RFS program due to a shortfall in cellulosic biofuel...

On January 16, 2025, Senators Jerry Moran (R-KS), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and Joni Ernst (R-IA) reintroduced the Farm to Fly Act (S. 144), which would help accelerate the production and development of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) through existing U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) programs to allow further growth for alternative fuels to be used in the aviation sector and create new markets for American farmers. According...