EPA delivers 2026–2027 renewable fuel volumes

On April 1, 2026, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published the “Set 2” Rule, establishing the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program’s 2026 and 2027 renewable fuel volumes and associated percentage standards for:

• Cellulosic biofuel,
• Biomass-based diesel (BBD),
• Advanced biofuel, and
• Total renewable fuel.

The final rule also implements other significant changes.

Who’s impacted?

The “Set 2” Rule affects:

• Transportation fuel (i.e., gasoline and diesel) refiners, blenders, marketers, distributors, importers, and exporters; and
• Renewable fuel producers and importers.

The volume and percentage requirements apply to obligated parties, which include transportation fuel refiners and importers.

What are the changes?

The final rule sets the renewable fuel volume requirements and associated percentage standards for 2026 and 2027. Volume requirements are measured in billion Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs). One RIN represents one gallon of ethanol-equivalent renewable fuel.

The “Set 2” Rule also:

• Reallocates 70 percent of the exempted Renewable Volume Obligations (RVOs) for 2023–2025 to 2026 and 2027 (which are reflected in the above table’s volume requirements),
• Partially waives the 2025 cellulosic biofuel volume requirement from 1.38 billion RINs to 1.21 billion RINs and adjusts the related percentage standard from 0.81 percent to 0.71 percent, and
• Removes renewable electricity as a qualifying renewable fuel under the RFS program.

RFS program refresher

The RFS program requires transportation fuel sold in the United States to contain a minimum volume of renewable fuels. EPA sets the renewable fuel volume targets for each of the four renewable fuel categories.

To comply, obligated parties must:

• Calculate their RVOs for each renewable fuel category, and
• Obtain and retire enough RINs to meet their RVOs.

Regulations also apply to fuel blenders, marketers, and exporters.

Small refiners may petition EPA for a small refinery exemption (SRE), which allows refineries to produce gasoline and diesel without having to meet the RVOs required by the RFS program. EPA grants SREs annually, and they cover one specific compliance year.

Key to remember: EPA’s final “Set 2” rule establishes the renewable fuel volumes and percentage standards for 2026 and 2027 and drives other changes to the RFS program.