The Renewable Fuels Association today welcomed the release of proposed renewable volume obligations (RVOs) for 2026 and 2027, calling the Environmental Protection Agency’s draft rule a “very positive signal” for America’s ethanol industry and farmers. By prioritizing domestically produced renewable fuels over imports, RFA said the EPA proposal makes good on President Trump’s commitment to put America first when it comes to energy and agriculture.
“Today’s proposal is an important step toward achieving President Trump’s vision of lower gas prices, a stronger agriculture industry, and American energy dominance,” said RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper. “The volumes proposed today provide crucial growth opportunities for U.S. ethanol producers and farmers, while boosting the supply of lower-cost, American-made energy. We thank Administrator Lee Zeldin and his team at EPA for listening to stakeholders from agriculture and the entire fuels industry as this proposal was being crafted.”
EPA proposed a total RVO of 24.02 billion gallons (bg) for 2026, including 15 bg for conventional renewable fuels like corn ethanol and 9.02 bg for advanced biofuels, including 5.61 bg of biomass-based diesel and 1.3 bg of cellulosic biofuel. For 2027, the total proposed RVO is 24.46 bg, of which 15 bg is conventional renewable fuel and 9.46 is advanced biofuel. Notably, EPA is proposing lower RIN values for imported fuels to ensure that U.S.-produced renewable fuels are prioritized under the RFS.
“This proposal sends a very positive and powerful signal to U.S. 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.”
Cooper also noted that while today’s proposed rule does not specifically address 169 pending small refinery exemption (SRE) petitions, it includes a commitment from EPA to reallocate any SREs that may be granted in future actions.
“The entire supply chain is seeking certainty regarding EPA’s plans on SREs, and today’s proposal helps to clarify the agency’s approach moving forward,” Cooper said. “We agree that the agency has a legal obligation to reallocate any exempted blending volumes, consistent with the approach adopted by EPA near the end of President Trump’s first administration. However, EPA’s top priority for SREs should be maintaining a high standard for evaluating petitions and continuing to take a restrained and limited approach. The marketplace needs to be reassured that the RVOs published by EPA are real and will not be watered down or eroded by SREs.”
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, cosigned by the American Petroleum Institute and others. “As the EPA begins work on policies that promote American energy and renewable fuels, we encourage the EPA to consider robust future renewable fuel volumes for 2026 and beyond. We believe strong, steady volumes for conventional biofuel targets, biomass-based diesel, and advanced fuels would more accurately reflect the availability and ongoing investments in feedstocks and production capacity,” we wrote.
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.”
In May, a bipartisan group of 28 House members called on President Trump to adopt “timely, robust” renewable volume obligations for 2026 and beyond, and “reject abuse” of EPA’s small refinery exemption authority.
