The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing an increase in the biofuels mandate. Two sources with knowledge of the proposal told Reuters that the agency wants to increase the volume of biofuels that refiners must blend annually to 20.04 billion gallons in 2020. That’s up from the requirement of 19.92 billion gallons in 2019.
The proposal is currently under review by other government agencies before it can be finalized. It includes 15 billion gallons of conventional biofuels like ethanol, which is unchanged from this year. The proposal also includes 5.04 billion gallons of advanced biofuels, such as those made from agricultural waste, up from 4.92 billion in 2019.
The biofuel mandate has helped farmers by opening up a huge market for ethanol and other biofuels. However, oil refiners say compliance with the mandate costs a lot of money. An EPA spokesman did confirm that the agency has submitted the proposal but wouldn’t comment on anything it contained.
As part of the advanced biofuel proposal, the agency set mandates for cellulosic ethanol at 540 million gallons and non-cellulosic at 4.5 billion gallons. The agency also set a biodiesel mandate of 2.43 billion gallons for 2021.