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EPA’s final RFS volumes higher than proposed

The Environmental Protection Agency released its final volume requirements today for the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) and they are higher than what it proposed in June. Janet McCabe, EPA’s Acting Assistant Administrator, told reporters the final numbers represent “ambitious and achievable growth” for renewable fuels.  McCabe says, “Overall, this final rule requires that total renewable standards grow by more than 1.8 Billion gallons between 2014 and 2016, that’s 11% more biofuel than the market produced in 2014.

She says the final 2016 standards for cellulosic biofuel, the fuel with the lowest carbon emissions, is nearly 200 million gallons, or seven times more than what the market produced last year. And, for advanced biofuels, “The 2016 standard is nearly 1 Billion gallons or 35% higher than actual volumes in 2014.”

And McCabe says biodiesel standards grow steadily over the next several years, “Increasing each year to reach 2 Billion gallons by 2017 and that’s 23% higher than the actual 2014 volumes.”

McCabe says the EPA received more than 670-thousand comments and conferred with the Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Agriculture in coming up with the final volume numbers.

AUDIO:  Conference call with Janet McCabe