(KIWA Staff Photo)Washington, D.C. (RI) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is reportedly set to double the number of exemptions that allow oil refineries to opt out of the federal renewable-fuel blending requirements.
The Iowa Biodiesel Board says the move could cost U.S. soybean farmers about $1 billion in lost revenue. Executive Director Grant Kimberly says the biodiesel industry has only recently started recovering after two difficult years in which some Iowa plants slowed or stopped production.
The news follows the Trump administration’s recent decision to sharply increase the mandated amount of renewable fuels required in the nation’s gasoline supply for 2026 and 2027. Kimberly says Small Refinery Exemptions, or SREs, would significantly undercut that mandate.
Several agricultural groups and members of Iowa’s Congressional delegation are speaking out against doubling the exemptions. The oil and gas industry has long opposed renewable-fuel blending requirements and has lobbied for broader exemptions.
