US EPA anticipates finalizing biofuel regulations in the first quarter of 2026

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is expected to finalize the 2026 and 2027 mandates for biofuel blends in 2026, 2027, and 2028, which were originally expected to be finalized in late October or in the first quarter of next year.

The Trump administration has pushed one of its most important energy policies into 2026. Companies say that without clarity on quotas they are forced hold back on deals, and to delay spending decisions which shape output and margins.

Sources familiar with the issue said that the decision was likely to spill over into next year.

Fuel producers, commodity traders, and farmers need the rule to secure supply contracts, hedge volatile energy and crop markets, and justify investment in new production capacity.

The Renewable Fuel Standard is a law that mandates billions of gallons ethanol and biofuels be blended in the U.S. fuel pool every year.

A notice filed at the US Court of Appeals for the D.C. showed that the EPA expects to release a final rule in the first quarter of the year 2026, after?consultations? with the White House Office of Management and Budget. Circuit on December 15, showed.

The proposed rule, which was issued earlier this year, would have increased the total renewable fuel requirements by increasing targets for advanced biofuels and biomass-based Diesel while also tightening rules on the use of imported Biofuels.

Rival oil and Biofuel interests have clashed about?the details. Refiners are seeking lower mandates and easier import access in order to reduce costs. Biofuel producers, on the other hand, advocate a higher blending volume that is focused on domestic supplies. (Reporting and writing by Jarrett Renshaw, Editing by Alexander Smith).

(source: Reuters)