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RENEWABLE FUELS ASSN WELCOMES USDA INTERIM RULE ON CLIMATE-SMART AG GUIDELINES
Source: Renewable Fuels Association news release

Washington -- The Renewable Fuels Association today welcomed the U.S. Department of Agriculture's release of an interim rule on Technical Guidelines for Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) Crops Used as Biofuel Feedstocks. The interim rule establishes guidelines for quantifying, reporting, and verifying the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the production of corn, sorghum, and other biofuel feedstock crops grown in the United States. The USDA guidelines could help inform the inclusion of CSA practices in future clean fuel regulations and tax credit programs, like the 45Z clean fuel production credit.

"America's ethanol producers applaud USDA for publishing these important guidelines, and we sincerely thank Secretary Tom Vilsack for his extraordinary vision and leadership," said RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper. "The entire team at USDA deserves much credit for the enormous effort and technical work that went into this process. These new guidelines begin to open the door to new value-added opportunities for farmers and renewable fuel producers."

Cooper noted that emissions related to feedstock production account for more than half of ethanol's carbon footprint; and to date, policies and regulations have not allowed farmers and ethanol producers to embrace more efficient, lower-carbon feedstock production practices as a pathway for reducing the carbon intensity of renewable fuels and breaking into new markets like sustainable aviation fuel.

"Today's USDA guidelines finally create a much-needed structure for properly assessing, valuing, and integrating the carbon reduction benefits of certain farming practices into lifecycle analysis. We thank USDA for developing this initial framework that could ultimately allow farmers to actively participate in carbon markets, bringing new revenue streams and unprecedented value creation to rural communities."

USDA is requesting public comments on the interim rule to help inform future revisions or additions to the final rule. RFA will provide comments to USDA on potential improvements, including the need for a decoupled, book-and-claim approach for supply chain management of CSA feedstocks.

Relatedly today, the Department of Energy released details on the 45ZCF-GREET model, which has been adopted by the U.S. Department of the Treasury to calculate the emissions reduction percentages under the Clean Fuel Production Credit ("45Z") established by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.

About the RFA

Since 1981, the Renewable Fuels Association has been the leading trade association for America's ethanol industry, working to drive expanded demand for American-made renewable fuels and bioproducts worldwide.


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