Key facts
- The governors of Louisiana and Alabama asked the EPA for a partial waiver of 2027 Renewable Fuel Standard obligations for refiners in their states.
- The American Soybean Association said a rollback of RFS volumes would hurt domestic soybean markets and rural economies.
- The soybean association said U.S. oil and gas companies made a record $160 billion in profits since April, up more than 175% from a year earlier.
- The Renewable Fuels Association said a 2027 waiver would raise gasoline prices and harm corn and soybean farmers, and urged the EPA to reject the requests.
- The governors cited U.S. Energy Information Administration data showing RFS compliance credits roughly doubled in value in the first half of 2026.
The American Soybean Association said on November 10 that it opposed requests by states to roll back Renewable Fuel Standard volumes, saying a waiver would hurt domestic soybean markets and rural economies. The RFS requires refiners to blend renewable fuels such as ethanol and biomass-based diesel into the fuel supply or buy compliance credits.
The governors of Louisiana and Alabama, Kay Ivey and Jeff Landry, asked EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin in a letter sent Monday for a partial waiver of 2027 RFS obligations for refiners in their states and for 2027 percentage standards to be adjusted downward, DTN reported. The governors wrote that the RFS imposes a cost on every gallon of gasoline and diesel sold in their states and that compliance credits roughly doubled in value in the first half of 2026, reaching record highs in late May and June, citing the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
The American Soybean Association said the requests, if acted on, would strike a blow to soybean markets. It said U.S. oil and gas companies made a record $160 billion in profits since April, an increase of more than 175% from a year earlier, while farmers cannot afford another market loss. The group said current RFS volumes have raised domestic demand for U.S. soybeans and that processors are investing in plant expansions and new construction.
The Renewable Fuels Association said a 2027 waiver would remove a source of lower-cost fuel and raise gasoline prices. Its president and CEO, Geoff Cooper, said wholesale ethanol prices were $1 per gallon lower than wholesale gasoline prices and that the Department of Energy recently reported E15 prices averaging 40 cents per gallon below standard E10. Cooper said a waiver would harm corn and soybean farmers in Alabama, Louisiana and across the country, and urged EPA to reject the requests.