Clean Fuels thanks USDA for final regenerative-ag rule, calculator

Clean Fuels Alliance America thanked USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins June 26 for finalizing a rule for the production of regenerative agricultural biofuel feedstocks and for providing an updated version of the USDA feedstock carbon-intensity calculator (USDA FD-CIC).

The rule provides U.S. farmers practical guidelines to implement regenerative-agriculture practices and calculate additional value from providing feedstock to domestic biodiesel, renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) producers.

“Clean Fuels and its members thank Secretary Rollins for finalizing rules that will help farmers get more value from the expanding domestic market for biomass-based diesel,” said Kurt Kovarik, Clean Fuels’ vice president of federal affairs. “We appreciate USDA’s responsiveness to industry input and simplification of the calculator. We look forward to future updates that will provide farmers additional feedstock and regenerative agricultural-management options.”

In comments to the interim rule published in January, Clean Fuels recommended that the feedstock carbon-intensity calculator include all feedstock pathways approved under the Renewable Fuel Standard.

Clean Fuels specifically requested that the calculator include intermediate oilseeds such as winter canola and pennycress and conservation crop rotation as a regenerative-agriculture practice.

Clean Fuels said it will continue to contribute to research that will quantify the emissions-reduction benefits of conservation crop rotation.

The U.S. treasury department has stated that it intends to enable biofuel producers to utilize the carbon-intensity calculator in calculating 45Z clean fuel production credit values for 2025 and 2026.

“The U.S. DOE and Argonne National Labs must first incorporate the calculator as a module in the 45ZCF-GREET model and the treasury department must then issue guidance allowing taxpayers to claim enhanced 45Z credits,” Clean Fuels stated.