The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released the final Renewable Volume Obligations (RVOs) for the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) for 2020, 2021 and 2022 in early June. The RVOs are the actual, total volume of renewable fuels that must be blended into the transportation sector during a given year. EPA sets those volumes annually, using statutory guidelines spelled out by Congress in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, after doing an assessment of renewable fuel production. Biogas generated by anaerobic digestion qualifies as either a cellulosic biofuel (D3) or a non-cellulosic advanced biofuel (D5), depending on the digester inputs. The final rule includes 510 million gallons for the cellulosic biofuel category in 2020, 560 million gallons in 2021 (a 10% increase), and 630 million gallons in 2022 (a 13% increase), 95% of which comes from biogas-derived renewable natural gas (RNG). The RVO in 2022 for advanced biofuel is 5.63 billion gallons. By comparison, in the proposed rule EPA released in December 2021, the 2022 obligation for cellulosic biofuel was set at 770 million gallons. The reduction from 770 million gallons to the final obligation of 630 million gallons is greater than the increase in obligations from 2020-2022. More >>
