Letter to Hon. Michael Regan, Administrator of the EPA - Klobuchar, Grassley, Murray, Thune Lead Bipartisan Group of Colleagues in Urging Biden Administration to Increase Biodiesel Volumes, Provide Certainty to Producers

Letter

Dear Administrator Regan,

We welcomed the recent finalization of the Renewable Volume Obligations (RVOs) for 2021 and 2022 under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) and your public commitments to get the RFS back on track and use the final 2022 volumes as a baseline for 2023 and beyond. To that end, we strongly encourage EPA to utilize the upcoming RVOs for 2023 and 2024 to continue to increase volumes of biomass-based diesel.

Biodiesel and renewable diesel are the first advanced biofuels under the RFS to reach commercial-scale production nationwide. In producing more than 3 billion gallons annually, biofuels producers utilize a broad variety of biomass feedstocks, including surplus vegetable oils, recycled cooking oils and animal fats, and other waste fats and oils. The production and use of biomass-based diesel contributes significantly to our economy and environment.

These homegrown fuels add to our country's critical fuel supplies, which helps to moderate fuel prices. In 2021, availability of U.S. biodiesel and renewable diesel reduced fuel prices at the pump by 4 percent. U.S. production of these clean fuels supports 13 percent of the value of U.S. grown soybeans and U.S. biofuels production supports more than 65,000 U.S. jobs and generates more than $17 billion in economic opportunity for rural communities. And biodiesel and renewable diesel reduce greenhouse gas emissions on average by 74 percent compared to petroleum diesel, according to forthcoming updates to Argonne National Laboratory's GREET model.

Farmers and biofuel producers are an essential part of the solution to the nation's economic, environmental, and energy security challenges. They deserve certainty in this policy. A multiyear rule would provide the predictability and market signals that the biomass-based diesel industry needs to grow.

Biofuels are poised to play an essential role in a sustainable, homegrown energy future. With the increased use of biomass-based diesel, we can advance efforts to diversify our nation's fuel supply while creating and sustaining jobs, strengthening local economies, generating tax revenues, and improving energy security.

We urge you to support higher RVOs for biomass-based diesel and advanced biofuels in the upcoming proposal to encourage additional development and use of this fuel.