Page 40 - Biofuels for a More Sustainable Future

34 Biofuels for a More Sustainable Future

The general renewable fuel goal includes three additional targets, that is
minimal amount of advanced biofuel (from 0.6 in 2009 to 21 billion of gal-
lons in 2022), cellulosic biofuel (from 0.1 in 2010 to 16 billion of gallons in
2022), and biomass-based diesel (from 0.5 in 2009 to 1 billion of gallons
in 2012).
General provisions of statutes are detailed in executive regulations of
EPA, which provide every year (on November the 30th) obligatory per-
centage quotas of biofuels to be reached by refineries, blenders, and
importers in the following year.
The RFS, unlike as RED Directive, established credit program. Based
on this program, actors exceeding the minimum required amount of biofuels
obtain a proportional amount of credits. Such credits can be traded with
other actors unable to reach their minimal biofuels level. Such mechanism
aims at reaching biofuels goals in the most economically efficient way, show-
ing similar features to the UE cap-and-trade system (Thompson et al., 2018).
The RFS allows waiving the biofuels targets in whole or in part if
“implementation of the requirement would severely harm the economy
or environment of a State, a region, or the United States” or “there is an
inadequate domestic supply.” There are also additional waivers opportuni-
ties in the case of cellulosic biofuel (if the production is too small) and
biomass-based diesel (in the case of “significant renewable feedstock disrup-
tion or other market circumstances”).

4.2.3 Standards of biofuels
Standards of renewable fuels were based on the definition of renewable bio-
mass. First, such biomass should take form of planted crops or trees, and their
residue harvested from land cleared or cultivated before 19 December 2007
(and in the case of crops—nonforested). Such regulation seems to counteract
deforestation activities. Second, it should not come from forests or forest-
lands that are “ecological communities with a global or State ranking of
critically imperiled, imperiled, or rare pursuant to a State Natural Heritage
Program, old growth forest, or late successional forest.” 12
Third, renewable biomass also can take form of animal waste material,
animal by-products, biomass obtained from the immediate vicinity of build-
ings and other areas regularly occupied by people, or of public infrastructure,
at risk from wildfire, separated yard waste or food waste, including recycled
cooking and trap grease, and algae.

12
§ 7545, letter (o), letter (I), point (iv) of US Code.