EPA Sets 2013 RFS at 16.55B Gallons
EPA Sets 2013 RFS at 16.55B Gallons
STREATOR, Ill. (DTN) -- The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday released the long-awaited 2013 renewable volume mandates for blending into petroleum fuels.
The total RFS volume requirement for 2013 is 16.55 billion gallons, or 9.63% of the projected demand for petroleum-based fuels this year. Of that total, 1.28 billion gallons, or 1.12%, of the RFS mandate must be satisfied with biomass-based diesel. Advanced biofuels constitute 2.75 billion gallons, or 1.6%, of the total, with cellulosic biofuels accounting for 14 million gallons, or 0.008%, of the 2013 RFS mandate.
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Overall, the RFS will require refiners to blend more than 1.35 billion gallons of renewable fuels over the amount mandated for 2012.
The RFS targets were established by the Energy Independence and Security Act signed into law in December 2007, with volume requirements for the upcoming compliance year due by Nov. 30.
This is the first year that EPA proposed a volume requirement of 1.28 billion gallons for biomass-based diesel even though the RFS specifies a 1.0 billion gallon minimum volume requirement for that category for 2013 and beyond. However, EISA enables the EPA to increase the volume requirement after consideration of a variety of environmental, market, and energy-related factors.
The RFS target steadily increases to an overall level of 36 billion gallons in 2022. To achieve these volumes, EPA calculates a percentage-based standard for the following year. Based on the standard, each obligated party -- refiners, blenders and importers -- must determine the minimum volume of renewable fuel that it must ensure is used in its transportation fuel.
(BM/AG)
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