Renewable Fuel Standards (RFS)

Congress created the Renewable Fuel Standards (RFS) Program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and expand the nation’s renewable fuels sector while reducing reliance on imported oil. This program was authorized under the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (RFS) and expanded under the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (RFS2). The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administers the RFS program and establishes the volume requirements for each category based on EISA-legislated volumes and fuel availability. EPA tracks compliance through the Renewable Identification Number (RIN) system, which assigns a RIN to each gallon of renewable fuel.  Entities that are regulated by RFS include oil refiners and gasoline and diesel importers, and each year, the RFS program requires the sale of specified volumes of renewable fuels according to the categories below. EISA established life cycle GHG emissions thresholds for each category, requiring a percentage improvement relative to the emissions baseline of the gasoline and diesel they replace.

An expert in the Renewable Fuels Standards is someone with a background in enforcement or compliance with the regulations.  These RFS and LCFS experts should be able to answer initial questions about whether certain feedstocks qualify for RINS, LCFS credits, and carbon credits, and if not, what might be available to secure such qualification.  The experts should also be able to explain the regulations and teach owners and staff how to operate within the regulations and rules. It is important to remember that volumetric obligation, and the generation of RINs in compliance, are complex and fraught with administrative issues.  There may be significant financial impacts based on how RINs are classified and used and the expert should be able to guide a client through the choices and assist them in making strategic decisions.

Lee Enterprises Consulting is the world’s premier bioeconomy consulting group, with over 100 highly qualified experts serving in all these areas.  We have highly qualified Renewable Fuel Standards (RFS) and LCFS experts available to assist you with any related matters. Our specialty services also include other things like environmental compliance, executive recruiting, expert witness engagements, intellectual property (IP) matters, laboratory testing, Life Cycle Analysis, RINs & Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), market studies, and process safety & management to name a few. Take a look at our experts and the services we provide and you will see that we have just the right expert for any clean energy project.  Most of our experts are also available to advise and serve as expert witnesses in bioeconomy litigation matters.  For the larger projects, we specialize in putting together full service, interdisciplinary teams with one point of contact.  Call us at 1+ (501) 833-8511 or email us for more information.