EXCLUSIVE Biden administration likely to retroactively raise ethanol blending volumes for 2021, sources say – Reuters

EXCLUSIVE Biden administration likely to retroactively raise ethanol blending volumes for 2021, sources say – Reuters

June 1 (Reuters) - The Biden administration is likely to raise ethanol blending mandates for 2021 above the figure it proposed in December to align with actual U.S. consumption levels, according to two sources briefed on the decision.

In December, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposed that refiners blend 13.32 billion gallons of ethanol into the fuel pool, a move that angered Farm Belt lawmakers and biofuel producers who said it was too low.

But recent federal figures show U.S. consumption of ethanol at about 13.94 billion gallons. The administration is now considering lifting the 2021 mandate to around that level, the sources said.