Clean Fuels asks US EPA to pause 2024 cellulosic-waiver proposal

Clean Fuels Alliance America filed written comments Jan. 17 on the U.S. EPA’s proposed partial waiver of 2024 cellulosic biofuel volumes.  

Clean Fuels asked EPA to pause the rulemaking process until the agency can provide a full accounting of available cellulosic RINs for 2024 and consider whether pending small-refinery exemptions (SREs) or other mechanisms provide relief to refiners.  

Additionally, Clean Fuels encouraged EPA to address the significant underestimation of biomass-based diesel and advanced biofuel volumes for 2024 and 2025. 

“We cannot accurately evaluate EPA’s calculation of an inadequate supply of cellulosic RINs for 2024 without first knowing the number of RINs that might be returned to the market through small-refinery exemptions,” Clean Fuels wrote in its comments. 

“We ask that EPA finalize a step-change in 2024 advanced RVOs to EPA’s own projected advanced RIN generation, which is currently expected to exceed the required volumes by at least 2.6 billion RINs,” the comments continued. “Clean Fuels appreciates EPA’s acknowledging a more-than-adequate supply of advanced and renewable RINs, but this alone is not enough. EPA should take this opportunity instead to address Clean Fuels’ petition and reconsider the 2024 and 2025 biomass-based diesel and advanced biofuel RVOs.” 

The full comments are available here. 

“Last June, Clean Fuels petitioned EPA to increase the 2024 and 2025 biomass-based diesel and overall advanced volumes for 2024 and 2025, because the agency set these volumes significantly below our industry’s demonstrated production,” said Kurt Kovarik, the vice president of federal affairs for Clean Fuels.

“EPA’s low volumes are holding back the potential of the clean-fuels industry to meet the energy security, environmental and economic goals of the Renewable Fuel Standard,” Kovarik said.

“EPA should take this opportunity to address our petition by proposing and finalizing an appropriate step-up in the volumes for 2024 and 2025,” he added.