By Ryan Hanrahan
Reuters’ Stephanie Kelly and Jarrett Renshaw reported Thursday that “the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Friday will propose new biofuel blending requirements for oil refiners for the coming two years that will likely include a lower biomass-based diesel mandate than industry groups had requested, according to four sources familiar with the matter.”
“The White House has completed its review of the EPA’s plan and returned it to the EPA for further action, according to the website for the Office of Management and Budget. The EPA is expected to announce the proposal on Friday, the sources said,” according to Kelly and Renshaw’s reporting. “The oil and biofuel industries, both major lobbying powers in Washington, have highly anticipated the release of the proposal, which will determine the fate of billions of dollars in fuel and tradable credit transactions.”
“A U.S. and biofuel coalition led by the American Petroleum Institute advocated in recent months that the EPA propose federal mandates for biomass diesel blending for 2026 at 5.25 billion gallons, which would be a significant increase from previous mandates, Reuters previously reported, citing sources,” according to Kelly and Renshaw’s reporting. “However, sources told Reuters on Thursday that the EPA was expected to propose biomass-based diesel blending quotas lower than 5.25 billion gallons. The EPA had set biomass-based diesel mandates for the 2025 compliance year at 3.35 billion gallons.”