Cheaper Harvest Fuel Trades Weaker RVOs Under RFS
There is an irony in offering farmers cheaper harvest fuel through an exemption that could weaken demand for their crops. Removing dyed diesel from the US Renewable Fuel Standard could reduce eligible fuel costs while cutting compliance demand supporting biodiesel, renewable diesel and their feedstocks. The proposal follows other relief for refiners: EPA extended the 2025 compliance deadline by 30 days to October 1 and granted small-refinery exemptions covering 1.76 billion RINs, 770 million more than anticipated. The agency intends to propose reallocating that difference into 2026–27 before the end of October, but replacement obligations are not yet settled. Producers face another potential exemption before the consequences of the previous decisions have been resolved. The suggested API lobbyist saving of roughly 30 cents per dyed-diesel gallon covers the full RFS compliance cost. At Monday’s December D4 price of $2.063 and the 2026 biomass-based diesel standard of 5.24%, the D4 component alone represents approximately 10.8 cents per fossil gallon. Other compliance costs contribute to the total, while the benefit reaching farmers would depend on the final rules and supplier pass-through.
Want to read more?
Subscribe to globalbiodiesel.com to keep reading this exclusive post.
