EPA Proposes 2014 Renewable Fuel
Standards, 2015 Biomass-Based
Diesel Volume
Under the Clean Air Act (CAA), as amended by the Energy Inde-
pendence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007, the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) is required to set the annual standards for
the Renewable Fuel Standard program (RES) for each year. This regu-
latory action proposes to establish the annual percentage standards for
2014 for cellulosic, biomass-based diesel, advanced biofuel, and total
renewable fuels that apply to gasoline and diesel produced or imported
in year 2014. EPA is also required to determine the applicable national
volume of biomass-based diesel that will be required in 2015, as the
statute does not specify the applicable volumes for years after 2012.
The proposal seeks to put the RFS program on a steady path forward - ensuring the
continued growth of renewable fuels while recognizing the practical limits on ethanol
blending, called the ethanol "blend wall." The blend wall refers to the difficulty in
incorporating increasing amounts of ethanol into the transportation fuel supply at
volumes exceeding those achieved by the sale of nearly all gasoline as E10 (gasoline
containing 10 percent ethanol by volume). Although the production of renewable
fuels has been increasing, overall gasoline consumption in the United States is less
than anticipated when Congress established the program by law in 2007. In order to
address that issue, EPA is proposing - to use existing authorities under the law - to
reduce the advanced biofuel and total renewable fuel standards for 2014. The Agency
is also proposing to maintain the same volume for biomass-based diesel for 2014 and
2015 as was adopted for 2013. Once the proposal is published in the Federal Register,
it will be open to a 60 day public comment period,
EPA has also received several requests from regulated parties to partially waive the
statutory volumes for 2014 and set them below the volumes specified in the statute.
In a separate action, the Agency is seeking comment on these petitions for a waiver
SEPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Transportation and Air Quality
EPA-420-F-13-048
November 2013
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of the renewable fuel standards that would apply in 2014. EPA expects that a determination on
the substance of the petitions will be issued at the same time that EPA issues a final rule estab-
lishing the 2014 RES standards.
Overview
The proposal discusses a variety of approaches for setting the 2014 standards, and includes a
number of production and consumption ranges for key categories of biofuel covered by the RES
program. The proposal seeks comment on a range of total renewable fuel volumes for 2014,
covering both ethanol and non-ethanol fuels, and proposes a level within that range for total
renewable fuel at 15.21 billion gallons. For advanced biofuel, EPA proposes to reduce the statu-
tory volume to the sum of the cellulosic volume, the biomass-based diesel requirement, and the
additional non-ethanol advanced biofuels that could reasonably be expected to be available and
consumed, at a level of 2.20 billion gallons.
The proposed standards reflect EPA's updated production projections, which are informed by
extensive engagement with industry and a thorough assessment of the biofuels market. Propos-
ing this reduction from the statutory levels is intended to put the program on a manageable
trajectory while still allowing for growth in advanced and total renewable fuels over time.
There are two different authorities in the statute that permit EPA to reduce volumes of
advanced biofuel and total renewable fuel below the volumes specified in the statute. When
the Agency lowers the applicable volume of cellulosic biofuel below the volume specified in
the CAA, EPA also has the authority to reduce the applicable volumes of advanced biofuel and
total renewable fuel by the same or a lesser amount. The Agency can also reduce the applicable
volumes of renewable fuel under the general waiver authority provided by the CAA under
certain conditions. This proposal uses a combination of these two authorities to reduce volumes
of both advanced biofuel and total renewable fuel to address two important constraints:
• Limitations in the volume of ethanol that can be consumed in gasoline given practical
constraints on the supply of higher ethanol blends to the vehicles that can use them and
other limits on ethanol blend levels in gasoline - a set of factors commonly referred to as
the ethanol "blend wall"
• Limitations in the ability of the industry to produce sufficient volumes of qualifying
renewable fuel
Proposed 2014 Ranges and Volumes
This rulemaking also provides an evaluation of the expected volumes of cellulosic biofuel for
2014. Based on an assessment of the available volumes of cellulosic biofuels, EPA is proposing
to set the cellulosic biofuel standard at 17 million gallons, significantly lower than CAA target
of 1.75 billion gallons. This projection reflects EPA's current estimate of what will actually be
produced in 2014, but EPA will consider public comments before setting the final cellulosic
standard. In addition, EPA is proposing to maintain the biomass-based diesel standard for 2014
and 2015 at the 2013 level of 1.28 billion gallons. Higher volumes of biomass-based diesel can
be used to help meet the volume requirement for advanced biofuel.
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The projected 2014 volumes used to determine the proposed percentage standards are shown in
Table 1.
Table 1
Volumes Used to Determine the Proposed 2014 Percentage Standards
Category
Cellulosic biofuel
Biomass-based diesel
Advanced biofuel
Renewable fuel
Volume3
17 mill gal
1.28 bill gal
2.20 bill gal
15.21 bill gal
Range
8-30 million gallons
1.28 billion gallons'3
2.0-2.51 billion gallons
15.00-15.52 billion gallons
aAll volumes are ethanol-equivalent, except for biomass-based diesel which is actual
bEPA is requesting comment on alternative approaches and higher volumes
Four separate percentage standards are required under the RFS program, corresponding to the
four separate volume requirements shown in Table 1. The percentage standards represent the
ratio of renewable fuel volume to non-renewable gasoline and diesel volume. Thus, in 2014
about 10% of all fuel used would be from renewable sources. The proposed standards for 2014
are shown in Table 2,
Table 2
Proposed Percentage Standards for 2014
Cellulosic biofuel
Biomass-based diesel
Advanced biofuel
Total renewable fuels
0.010 percent
1.16 percent
1.33 percent
9.20 percent
Once the proposal is published in the Federal Register, it will be open to a 60 day public comment
period. The Agency expects to receive additional data during the public comment period and
can adjust the proposed volumes as appropriate based on the latest information.
RFS Waiver Requests
In a separate Federal Register Notice, EPA is seeking comment on petitions for a waiver of the
renewable fuel standards that would apply in 2014. The American Petroleum Institute (API)
and the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) submitted a joint petition
to the Administrator, dated August 13, 2013, on behalf of their members requesting a partial
waiver of the 2014 applicable volumes under the RFS. Subsequently, several refining companies
submitted individual petitions that also request a waiver. Section 211(o)(7)(A) of the Clean
Air Act allows the Administrator of the EPA to waive the national volume requirements of the
renewable fuel standard program in whole or in part if implementation of those requirements
would severely harm the economy or environment of a State, a region, or the United States,
or if the Administrator determines that there is inadequate domestic supply of renewable fuel,
EPA recognizes that there is significant overlap in the supporting data and issues raised in the
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petitions for a waiver and EPA's rulemaking to set the RFS percentage standards for 2014, and
EPA requests that comments on the waiver petitions be submitted in the same time frame as
comments on the rulemaking proposal. In light of the overlap in issues between the rulemaking
proposal and petitions for waiver, EPA expects that our determination on the substance of the
petitions for a waiver of the 2014 statutory volumes will be issued at the same time that EPA
issues a final rule establishing the 2014 RES standards.
For More Information
For more information on this proposal, please visit the RFS website at:
www epa. gov/otaq/fue Is/rene wablefue Is
To submit a question on the RFS program, and to view Frequently Asked Questions, please visit:
www.epa.gov/otaq/fuels/renewablefuels/compliancehelp/index.htm
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