EPA expected to send 2026 biofuel blending quotas to White House this week

By Jarrett Renshaw

Feb 17 (Reuters) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is expected to submit proposed biofuel blending quotas for 2026 to the White House this week for final review, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

President Donald Trump's administration is racing to meet a self-imposed deadline to finalize delayed new U.S. biofuel blending mandates by the end of March. The White House typically takes roughly 30 days to review the proposal before it becomes public.

The EPA in June proposed total biofuel blending volumes at 24.02 billion gallons in 2026 and 24.46 billion gallons in 2027, up from 22.33 billion gallons in 2025. The total included a target of 5.61 billion gallons for bio-based diesel, a significant jump from the 3.35 billion gallons in 2025.

The agency is now weighing a slightly lower range of 5.2 billion to 5.6 billion gallons for biomass-based diesel in 2026, Reuters previously reported. Any adjustment could affect fuel credit markets and expectations for soybean oil demand, a key feedstock for biodiesel.

The potential downward adjustment is partially related to the EPA's plan to ditch a proposal that would slash the value of renewable fuel credits given by the U.S. government for imported biofuels, an "America First" policy hailed as a victory by the soybean and biodiesel industries.

Reuters previously reported that the EPA was considering delaying the proposal for at least a year.