By Jamie Martin
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has released interim guidelines for biofuel feedstocks under its Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) initiative. These rules aim to help farmers quantify, report, and verify the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with biofuel production, creating new opportunities for farmers and renewable fuel producers.
The guidelines, aligned with the 45Z tax credit under the Greenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy use in Technologies (GREET) model, offer a structured framework for farmers. By adopting CSA practices, farmers can produce biofuel feedstocks with lower carbon intensities and unlock financial benefits.
Key industry associations like the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) and Growth Energy have welcomed the move.
“America’s ethanol producers applaud USDA for publishing these important guidelines, and we sincerely thank Secretary Tom Vilsack for his extraordinary vision and leadership. 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,” said RFA President Geoff Cooper “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.”
The Clean Fuels Alliance America and American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) also expressed optimism, emphasizing the flexibility the guidelines provide. “We commend Secretary Vilsack and the office of chief economist for taking critical steps to support farmers and biofuel producers in achieving verifiable carbon reductions through climate-smart practices,” said ACE CEO Brian Jennings. “We’re pleased to see greater flexibility for farmers, including the stacking of practices and a departure from the all-or-none bundled approach previously required under 40B. ACE looks forward to continuing our collaboration with USDA and the Treasury Department as it finalizes the 45Z Clean Fuel Production tax credit under the incoming administration, ensuring these efforts are accurately recognized and rewarded."
USDA’s carbon intensity calculator is another critical tool introduced in the rule, allowing farmers to measure the carbon reduction impact of their practices. The guidelines are expected to benefit industries such as ethanol, biodiesel, and renewable diesel, driving sustainable energy solutions.
Public feedback on the interim rule is open until DATE. The full guidelines are available at regulations.gov.
Photo Credit: usda
Categories: National