Category: Renewable Volume Obligations (RVOs)

What Are Renewable Volume Obligations (RVOs)?

August 21, 2025

For anyone involved in blending biofuels, understanding Renewable Volume Obligations (RVOs) under the U.S. EPA Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) is essential. RVOs are annual mandates set by EPA that require refiners and importers of gasoline and diesel to blend specific volumes of renewable fuel into the nation’s fuel supply. RVOs set the demand for RINs for each compliance year and serve as the enforcement mechanism for the RFS. How RVOs Work Understanding how RVOs work involves several key steps: Step One: EPA Sets the National Targets Each year, EPA sets national renewable fuel volume targets. These targets are divided into... Read More →

The Grand Finale: EPA Releases Final “Set” Rule

July 11, 2023

The thing that everyone has been talking about for the past few months has finally happened. *Cue the drumroll please* EPA released the final “Set” rule. Boasting nearly 500 pages, the final “Set” rule included several provisions, such as: the formal withdrawal of eRINs from the final rule, new Renewable Volume Obligations (RVOs) for 2023-2025, EPA setting a precedent for releasing RVOs every three years, an amendment to the separated food waste record-keeping rule, biogas reform rules, and many other provisions. Don’t worry, I read all 468 pages so that you don’t have to experience the absolute joy of reading... Read More →

The 12 Rules of Christmas: EPA Publishes Proposed 2023-2025 Set Rule

December 14, 2022

“On the first day of Christmas EPA proposed to me…a 692-page rule” Doesn’t have quite the same ring to it, does it? If you’ve been paying attention to the transportation fuels industry, you know that EPA just released the “Set” rule for 2023 and beyond. This was a monstrous release, boasting 692 pages of pure regulatory and scientific language. It was a real page-turner. The release is significant because 2023 is the first year the statute did not set mandatory targets for the transportation fuels industry. This means, under statute, EPA is now permitted to promulgate all future Renewable Volume... Read More →

Hocus Pocus: RVO Litigation, 2023 Set, and Other Rumors

October 12, 2022

It’s that time of year when the leaves are falling, the air is getting chillier, and rumors about the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) are mounting their broomsticks and flying through the air. With the deadline of the 2023 (and possibly beyond) RFS Set and recent legal proceedings associated with the release of 2021 and 2022 final Renewable Volume Obligations (RVOs), rumors are flying faster than Starbuck’s released its famed pumpkin spice latte. While there is a lot going on in the industry, I’ll be funny…so you’ll at least giggle while you read this… Let’s talk about the litigation and legal... Read More →

Group Projects and Accountability: Growth Energy Reaches Settlement with EPA For 2023 Set Deadline

August 10, 2022

Group projects are the worst…or maybe that’s just my sentiments? Oh, come on, we both know you read the words “group project” and groaned! After its recent lawsuit and subsequent settlement with Growth Energy, I think EPA may know exactly how I (we) feel. Recently, Growth Energy and EPA reached a settlement that requires EPA to publish proposed target volumes for the 2023 Set by November 16, 2022, and have to be finalized no later than June 14, 2023. While the court is expected to approve the terms of the settlement, a consent decree has not yet been issued by... Read More →

Stranger Things Season Premier and Other Spoilers: EPA Releases Final RVOs for 2020, 2021, and 2022

June 8, 2022

With all the hype of Season 4 of Stranger Things, it’s truly a miracle that I get anything done. Admittedly, I wasn’t all about it when it was originally released (pretty sure I was still in the black hole of law school), but I’m a little addicted now. Between defeating the Demogorgon and Dustin’s dimples, the show is pretty easy to love. Speaking of demogorgons, EPA recently released the final Renewable Volume Obligations (RVOs) for 2020, 2021, and 2022, and other, well, stranger things. Part of the reason the final release of the RVOs was important was that EPA was... Read More →

Breathe In, Breathe Out: EPA to Finalize 2021 and 2022 RVOs by June 3

March 9, 2022

How do you give a millennial incurable writer’s block? Tell them they’re on a deadline. EPA can relate to millennial angst where deadlines are concerned. Growth Energy recently reached a settlement with EPA requiring that EPA finalize the Renewable Volume Obligations (RVOs) for 2021 and 2022 by June 3. Growth Energy’s settlement terms (the “Settlement”) require EPA to sign the final rule for the 2021 and 2022 RVOs by June 3. Just a quick legalese sidebar, when a civil suit is filed and the parties reach an agreement prior to a final adjudication (the jury giving a verdict or dollar amount), the... Read More →

New Year, New Renewable Volume Obligations: EPA Releases 2021 and 2022 Proposed RVOs and Revised Final 2020 RVOs

January 12, 2022

Can we all just agree that New Year’s resolutions are really just well-intentioned suggestions rather than obligations? I could resolve to eat healthier and get more exercise, but carbohydrates and cheese make up about 75 percent of my being and my relationship with Netflix is well-established. EPA must have had a jump-start on its resolutions and finally resolved to release RVOs, among many other things. For this post, however, I am going to focus on the recent release of Renewable Volume Obligations (RVOs) for 2021 and 2022, and the revised 2020 final volumes. Before I go any further, RVOs are... Read More →

Get Ready, Get Set Go! EPA Sets Renewable Volume Obligations for 2023 and Beyond

November 10, 2021

I have two siblings, which means the phrase “ready, get set, go” gives me anxiety. Inevitably, one of my siblings would start before any of us and the game went steadily downhill from there. Similarly, EPA is currently on the “get set” phase of setting volumes for the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) for 2023 and beyond…but isn’t jumping ahead of anyone. Just as a quick little reminder, for the RFS, the year 2022 Is. Not. A. Sunset. Date. *ahem* Now that we’ve got that out of the way, EPA is statutorily required to set the RVOs for 2023 and beyond... Read More →

Double, Double, Toil, and Trouble: EPA Has Yet to Release RVOs

October 13, 2021

It’s the month of Halloween which brings things like too much candy and slasher films, but it’s the thing that is still missing that may be the spookier thing. We are half-way through October and still, EPA has yet to release the Renewable Volume Obligations currently stuck in a black abyss that has to be located at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The release of the Renewable Volume Obligations (RVOs) has been a long-awaited event that seems to never happen. Rumors fly like witches on broomsticks, but nothing seems to materialize. First, they were absolutely going to be... Read More →