The Trump administration hit two home runs for the ethanol industry during the last week of March amidst National Agriculture Month celebrations – announcing waivers to allow sales of E15 through the summer, in lieu of Congressional action to make it permanent, and finalizing the long-delayed renewable volume obligations for 2026 and 2027. In this edition of The Ethanol Report …
Industry Reacts to Final RFS Volumes
Ethanol industry stakeholders are pleased with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized Renewable Volume Obligations (RVOs) for the 2026 and 2027 compliance years under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) ‘Set 2’ Rule overall, but still take issue with the 70% partial reallocation of the 2023–2025 granted small refinery exemptions (SREs). Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Geoff Cooper says they …
RFS Set 2 Announced at White House Farmer Event
Hundreds of farmers and ranchers representing various regions and commodities joined President Donald Trump on the south lawn of the White House Friday to hear him make several announcements related to agriculture, including addressing Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) system complaints, and finalizing historically high Renewable Fuel Standard volume obligations. “I’m also announcing a dramatic update to the Renewable fuel standards …
ACE CEO Hopeful for EPA Final Rule Next Week
American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) CEO Brian Jennings is hopeful the delayed Renewable Volume Obligations for 2026 and 2027 will be announced next week sometime, and it could coincide with the reported White House event for agriculture and biofuels. “We expect positive news on the RFS front, strong blending volumes. I think the big question is how much of the …
Clean Fuels Celebrates Biodiesel Day Urging Final RFS
Clean Fuels Alliance America is celebrating National Biodiesel Day today and looking ahead to new opportunities for growth. “Biodiesel helped chart the course for today’s clean fuels market in heavy-duty transportation and opened the doors to applications in rail, marine, Bioheat® fuel and aviation,” said Clean Fuels CEO Donnell Rehagen. “We have built that progress on a proud legacy of …
Grassley Demands Answers for Small Refinery Exemptions
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) sent a letter this week to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin regarding concerns that some refiners may be making false claims to receive Small Refinery Exemptions (SREs) under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). Sen. Grassley sent the letter as a follow up on a request sent by Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird in October …
E15 Legislation Loses Oil Industry Support
The American Petroleum Institute (API) Tuesday came out against the Nationwide Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act of 2025, which it had previously supported, citing “sweeping changes to federal biofuel policy, state volatility mandates, and market conditions (that) have upended the fuels landscape.” In a letter to congressional leadership, API urged “a more balanced and up-to-date approach to E15 legislation, …
Clean Fuels Warns of Huge Losses Without SRE Reallocations
Clean Fuels Alliance America warns that farmers risk losing $7.5 billion unless EPA reallocates gallons affected by small refinery exemptions. Clean Fuels last week wrote a letter to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin with data projecting the economic impact for U.S. soybean farmers and processors of EPA’s proposed supplemental “SRE reallocation volume” to the 2026 and 2027 RFS volumes. EPA is …
Hearing Discusses Renewable Fuel for Ships
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee held a hearing Wednesday to discuss the Renewable Fuels for Ocean-Going Vessels Act, introduced earlier this year by Sens. Pete Ricketts (R-NE) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN). The legislation would open new markets for U.S. farmers and biodiesel renewable diesel producers by allowing them to preserve Renewable Identification Number credits (RINs) under the Renewable …
Biofuels on USDA Deputy Secretary’s Mind at 2025 FPS
USDA Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Stephen Vaden filled in for his boss at the 2025 Farm Progress Show Tuesday, chatting on the mainstage with Mike Pearson of This Week in AgriBusiness and answering question from farm reporters on site, expressing the administration’s strong support for domestic biofuels. “I think it’s fair to say that the second Trump administration has been …