The Environmental Protection Agency is mulling over the idea to combine 2021 and 2022 biofuel blending obligations, according to a report by Reuters. The EPA has in the past combined biofuel targets after missing deadlines, most recently in 2015, when it announced 2014, 2015 and 2016 targets at the same time.
Biofuel targets must be published annually under the Renewable Fuel Standard, outlining how many gallons of biofuels like ethanol and biodiesel refineries must blend into fuels. Trump administration EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler opted to delay the announcement last year, awaiting action in a Supreme Court case.
The RFS has been long plagued by a battle between the oil industry and the biofuels industry. Ethanol production reached five-year lows last month, following demand destruction from EPA small refinery exemptions and the coronavirus pandemic. However, the industry sees the Biden Administration’s priority on climate as an opportunity to include biofuels in climate change policies.