{ "id": "R40155", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "number": "R40155", "active": true, "source": "EveryCRSReport.com, University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "versions": [ { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 439052, "date": "2013-11-22", "retrieved": "2016-04-06T20:51:39.164639", "title": "Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS): Overview and Issues", "summary": "Federal policy has played a key role in the emergence of the U.S. biofuels industry. Policy measures have included minimum renewable fuel usage requirements, blending and production tax credits, an import tariff, loans and loan guarantees, and research grants. One of the more prominent forms of federal policy support is the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS)\u2014whereby a minimum volume of biofuels is to be used in the national transportation fuel supply each year. This report describes the general nature of the RFS mandate and its implementation, and outlines some emerging issues related to the continued growth of U.S. biofuels production needed to fulfill the expanding RFS mandate, the potential inability of the domestic market to absorb ethanol above a 10% share of domestic gasoline fuels (a problem known as the \u201cblend wall\u201d), and the emergence of potential unintended consequences of this rapid expansion. \nCongress first established the RFS with the enactment of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct, P.L. 109-58). This initial RFS (referred to as RFS1) mandated that a minimum of 4 billion gallons be used in 2006, rising to 7.5 billion gallons by 2012. Two years later, the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA, P.L. 110-140) greatly expanded the biofuel mandate volumes and extended the ramp-up through 2022. The expanded RFS (referred to as RFS2) required the annual use of 9 billion gallons of biofuels in 2008, rising to 36 billion gallons in 2022, with at least 16 billion gallons from cellulosic biofuels, and a cap of 15 billion gallons for corn-starch ethanol. \nIn addition to the expanded volumes and extended date, RFS2 has three important distinctions from RFS1. First, the total renewable fuel requirement is divided into four separate, but nested categories\u2014total renewable fuels, advanced biofuels, biomass-based diesel, and cellulosic biofuels\u2014each with its own volume requirement. Second, biofuels qualifying under each category must achieve certain minimum thresholds of lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions, with certain exceptions applicable to existing facilities. Third, all renewable fuel must be made from feedstocks that meet an amended definition of renewable biomass, including certain land use restrictions.\nThe Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is responsible for establishing and implementing regulations to ensure that the nation\u2019s transportation fuel supply contains the mandated biofuels volumes. EPA\u2019s initial regulations for administering RFS1 (issued in April 2007) established detailed compliance standards for fuel suppliers, a tracking system based on renewable identification numbers (RINs) with credit verification and trading, special treatment of small refineries, and general waiver provisions. EPA rules for administering RFS2 (issued in February 2010) built upon the earlier RFS1 regulations and include specific deadlines for announcing annual standards, as well as greater specificity on potential waiver requests and RIN oversight. \nOver the long term, the RFS is likely to play a dominant role in the development of the U.S. biofuels sector. However, emerging resource constraints related to the rapid expansion of U.S. corn ethanol production have provoked questions about its long-run sustainability and the possibility of unintended consequences in other markets as well as on the environment. Questions also exist about the ability of the U.S. biofuels industry to meet the expanding mandate for biofuels from non-corn sources such as cellulosic biomass materials, whose production capacity has been slow to develop, or biomass-based biodiesel, which remains expensive to produce owing to the relatively high prices of its feedstocks. Finally, considerable uncertainty remains regarding the development of the infrastructure capacity (e.g., trucks, pipelines, retail pumps, etc.) needed to deliver the expanding biofuels mandate to consumers.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R40155", "sha1": "928c30b007354ea044d1d15a614236ef34ab7b6b", "filename": "files/20131122_R40155_928c30b007354ea044d1d15a614236ef34ab7b6b.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R40155", "sha1": "be31adebb5cb6819448f4aa75b36df394093fa35", "filename": "files/20131122_R40155_be31adebb5cb6819448f4aa75b36df394093fa35.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 3382, "name": "Agriculture-Based Biofuels" }, { "source": "IBCList", "id": 3390, "name": "Energy and Environmental Impacts of Transportation" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc463124/", "id": "R40155_2013Mar14", "date": "2013-03-14", "retrieved": "2014-12-05T09:57:41", "title": "Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS): Overview and Issues", "summary": "This report focuses specifically on the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). It describes the general nature of the biofuels RFS and its implementation, and outlines some of the emerging issues related to the sustainability of the continued growth in U.S. biofuels production needed to fulfill the expanding RFS mandate, as well as the emergence of potential unintended consequences of this rapid expansion. This report does not address the broader public policy issue of how best to support U.S. energy policy.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20130314_R40155_b9e8819ad3e045eeed63cece9ef868ab0475f9e0.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20130314_R40155_b9e8819ad3e045eeed63cece9ef868ab0475f9e0.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Energy", "name": "Energy" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Alternative energy sources", "name": "Alternative energy sources" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Biomass energy", "name": "Biomass energy" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Energy policy", "name": "Energy policy" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Alcohol as fuel", "name": "Alcohol as fuel" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Alternative fuels", "name": "Alternative fuels" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc227634/", "id": "R40155_2012Jan23", "date": "2012-01-23", "retrieved": "2013-11-05T18:07:05", "title": "Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS): Overview and Issues", "summary": "Report that describes the general nature of the biofuels RFS and its implementation, outlines some of the emerging issues related to the sustainability of the continued growth in U.S. biofuels production needed to fulfill the expanding RFS mandate, and the emergence of potential unintended consequences of this rapid expansion.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20120123_R40155_5da19a2d0e65ac77e4a4fa371d6cf2dcca071f00.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20120123_R40155_5da19a2d0e65ac77e4a4fa371d6cf2dcca071f00.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Energy", "name": "Energy" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Alternative energy sources", "name": "Alternative energy sources" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Biomass energy", "name": "Biomass energy" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Energy policy", "name": "Energy policy" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Alcohol as fuel", "name": "Alcohol as fuel" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Alternative fuels", "name": "Alternative fuels" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc491577/", "id": "R40155_2010Oct14", "date": "2010-10-14", "retrieved": "2015-01-27T19:40:46", "title": "Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS): Overview and Issues", "summary": "This report focuses specifically on the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). It describes the general nature of the biofuels RFS and its implementation, and outlines some of the emerging issues related to the sustainability of the continued growth in U.S. biofuels production needed to fulfill the expanding RFS mandate, as well as the emergence of potential unintended consequences of this rapid expansion. This report does not address the broader public policy issue of how best to support U.S. energy policy.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20101014_R40155_ef173ee2d9e9c7154108f7350e2f95be4a358a14.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20101014_R40155_ef173ee2d9e9c7154108f7350e2f95be4a358a14.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Energy", "name": "Energy" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Alternative energy sources", "name": "Alternative energy sources" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Biomass energy", "name": "Biomass energy" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Energy policy", "name": "Energy policy" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Alcohol as fuel", "name": "Alcohol as fuel" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Alternative fuels", "name": "Alternative fuels" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc811117/", "id": "R40155_2010Jul14", "date": "2010-07-14", "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26", "title": "Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS): Overview and Issues", "summary": null, "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20100714_R40155_425d466ef5b58007404eeb0863e2cc176311fb8b.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20100714_R40155_425d466ef5b58007404eeb0863e2cc176311fb8b.html" } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc743542/", "id": "R40155_2009Jan23", "date": "2009-01-23", "retrieved": "2015-10-20T21:35:54", "title": "Selected Issues Related to an Expansion of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS)", "summary": "This report outlines some of the current supply issues facing biofuels industries, including implications for agricultural feedstocks, infrastructure concerns, energy supply for biofuels production, and fuel price uncertainties.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20090123_R40155_30747474571ec9f7ea8ef54cb4df497b5674f156.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20090123_R40155_30747474571ec9f7ea8ef54cb4df497b5674f156.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Energy", "name": "Energy" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Biomass energy", "name": "Biomass energy" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Alternative energy sources", "name": "Alternative energy sources" } ] } ], "topics": [ "Agricultural Policy", "Economic Policy", "Energy Policy" ] }