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Governors push EPA to increase biodiesel, renewable diesel in RFS

A trio of Midwestern governors is asking the Environmental Protection Agency to substantially increase blending requirements for biodiesel and renewable diesel.

Greg Anderson, a Nebraska farmer and a member on the Clean Fuels Alliance America governing board, says the proposal under the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) isn’t enough. “Investments by biodiesel renewable diesel producers, farmers, oilseed processors and so forth really are at risk without a true statement from EPA showing that there’s going to be an upward trajectory, making the RFS work just like it was intended.”

Kim Reynolds (R-IA), Mike Parson (R-MO) and Jim Pillen (R-NE) sent the agency a letter saying the Renewable Volume Obligations (RVO) for biomass-based diesel (BBD) and advanced biofuels volumes are the wrong signal to the ag industry. EPA has proposed BBD volumes below 3 billion gallons through 2025, but the industry produced more than that in 2022.

Anderson tells Brownfield lower blending requirements could hinder availability. “Investments by biodiesel renewable diesel producers, farmers, oilseed processors and so forth really are at risk without a true statement from EPA showing that there’s going to be an upward trajectory, making the RFS work just like it was intended.”

Anderson says it would also hurt rural economies and fail to adequately diversify the US energy supply. 

The agency is expected to finalize RFS volumes by June 14.