Insight Focus
The EPA has proposed higher biofuel blending targets through 2027. The plan raises volumes to 24.02 billion gallons in 2026 and 24.46 billion in 2027, with increased targets for biomass-based diesel and cellulosic biofuel. The move drew broad support from industry groups, lawmakers and farm-state governors.
EPA Proposal Boosts Biofuel Targets Through 2027
The US biofuels industry was cheered recently when the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed increasing the amount of biofuels (Renewable Volume Obligation) that oil refiners must blend into the nation’s fuel mix over the next two years.
The EPA proposed total biofuel blending volumes at 24.02 billion gallons in 2026 and 24.46 billion gallons in 2027, up from 22.33 billion gallons in 2025. A coalition of oil and biofuel groups banded together in a historically unusual move this year to request biomass diesel blending for 2026 at 5.25 billion gallons, compared with 3.35 billion gallons in 2025.
“The volumes proposed today provide crucial growth opportunities for US ethanol producers and farmers,” said Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) President Geoff Cooper.
Source: EPA
The RFA called the EPA’s draft rule a “very positive signal” for the US ethanol industry and farmers. By prioritising domestically produced renewable fuels over imports, RFA said the EPA proposal makes good on President Trump’s commitment to put the US first when it comes to energy and agriculture.
The EPA proposal includes 15 billion gallons for conventional renewable fuels like corn ethanol and 9.02 billion gallons for advanced biofuels, including 5.61 billion gallons of biomass-based diesel and 1.3 billion gallons of cellulosic biofuel.
For 2027, the total proposed Renewable Volume Obligation (RVO) is 24.46 billion gallons, of which 15 billion gallons is conventional renewable fuel and 9.46 billion gallons is advanced biofuel.
Source: EPA
“This proposal sends a very positive and powerful signal to US renewable fuel producers and farmers. It represents an excellent starting point for the 2026 and 2027 RVO discussion,” Cooper said. “We look forward to providing more feedback to EPA on the proposed volumes during the public comment period, and we’ll continue to underscore the vital importance of a strong RFS to America’s rural communities.”
Industry and Lawmakers Unite Behind Higher RVOs
In this round of setting volumes for compliance year 2026 and beyond, the broader liquid fuels industry worked together for the first time, supporting robust volumes and a multi-year approach. RFA was part of a joint letter in February to incoming EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, co-signed by the American Petroleum Institute and others.
In April, 16 senators called on EPA to put forward strong renewable volume obligations for the 2026 compliance year and beyond. Also in April, the governors of four states—Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, and South Dakota—wrote a joint letter to Zeldin supporting strong renewable volumes, noting that “for our multi-generational farm families, a strong RVO is more than policy – it’s a critical foundation for their future.”
