Ag Matters: Biofuel Industry Breathes Easier After EPA Plan

The Environmental Protection Agency has granted a new round of Small Refinery Exemptions under the Renewable Fuel Standard, exempting refiners from some renewable fuel blending obligations for 2025. While the action removes nearly 1.8 billion renewable fuel credits from the marketplace, EPA says it plans to restore that volume through future Renewable Volume Obligations. Kurt Kovarik with Clean Fuels Alliance America says the renewable fuels industry pushed hard to ensure farmers and biodiesel producers weren’t left behind.

Kovarik says preserving those renewable fuel volumes matters not only for producers, but also for consumers filling up their tanks.

He also pushed back on claims that renewable fuels drive up fuel costs.

Kovarik says the renewable diesel industry has invested heavily in expanding domestic production capacity, but it needs regulatory certainty to keep growing.

He’s critical of the exemptions themselves, but Kovarik says the administration’s willingness to replace the exempted volumes ultimately helps address industry concerns.

EPA plans to propose reallocating the exempted volumes into future blending requirements before the end of October.