EPA approves efficient producer pathway for Al-Corn Clean Fuel

Source: By Erin Voegele, Ethanol Producer Magazine • Posted: Wednesday, August 23, 2017

The U.S. EPA has approved an efficient producer pathway for Al-Corn Clean Fuel, allowing the facility to generate renewable identification numbers (RINs) under the Renewable Fuel Standard for non-grandfathered volumes of ethanol.  The plant, located in Claremont, Minnesota, has a nameplate capacity of 50 MMgy.

Ethanol plants that have approved efficient producer pathways are able to generate RINs for production volumes above those grandfathered under current RFS regulations. When the RFS was established in its current form, the rulemaking grandfathered in the production volume of existing corn ethanol plants. To qualify for compliance with the RFS program, any new production above the grandfathered gallons must meet a 20 percent greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction threshold when compared to the program’s gasoline baseline. The efficient producer pathway petition process is designed to aid ethanol plants in gaining pathway approval for expanded production above those grandfathered volumes.

According to documents published by the EPA, the Al-Corn Clean Fuel plant achieves a 22.4 percent GHG reduction when compared to baseline gasoline. A typical natural gas-fired dry mill ethanol plant that produces 100 percent dry distillers grains achieves a 16.8 percent GHG reduction when compared to the gasoline baseline.

Additional information on the Al-Corn Clean Fuel pathway approval is available on the EPA website.

|