UPDATE: Pacific Ethanol (PEIX) Shares Active; EPA Boosts Biofuel Mandate from Prior Proposal

(Updated - November 30, 2015 2:47 PM EST)

Pacific Ethanol (NASDAQ: PEIX) trading triggers limit-up, limit-down trading halt as the EPA is said to stop short of statutory targets for biofuels, according to Bloomberg. The EPA is also said to increase biofuel mandate from may proposal.

UPDATE - The following was posted to the EPA's website on Monday afternoon:

Rule Summary

EPA is finalizing the volume requirements and associated percentage standards that apply under the RFS program in calendar years 2014, 2015, and 2016 for cellulosic biofuel, biomass-based diesel, advanced biofuel, and total renewable fuel. EPA is also finalizing the volume requirement for biomass-based diesel for 2017.

The final requirements will boost renewable fuel production and provide for robust, achievable growth of the biofuels industry. The final rule considered the many public comments EPA received on the proposal, and incorporates updated information and data. EPA is finalizing 2014 and 2015 standards at levels that reflect the actual amount of domestic biofuel used in those years, and standards for 2016 (and 2017 for biodiesel) that represent significant growth over historical levels.

Final Renewable Fuel Volumes

	2014	2015	2016	2017
Cellulosic biofuel (million gallons)	33	123	230	n/a
Biomass-based diesel (billion gallons)	1.63	1.73	1.90	2.00
Advanced biofuel (billion gallons)	2.67	2.88	3.61	n/a
Renewable fuel (billion gallons)	16.28	16.93	18.11	n/a
(Units for all volumes are ethanol-equivalent, except for biomass-based diesel volumes which are expressed as physical gallons.)

Final Percentage Standards

	2014	2015	2016
Cellulosic biofuel	0.019%	0.069%	0.128%
Biomass-based diesel	1.41%	1.49%	1.59%
Advanced biofuel	1.51%	1.62%	2.01%
Renewable fuel	9.19%	9.52%	10.10%

The final 2016 standard for advanced biofuel is nearly 1 billion gallons, or 35 percent, higher than the actual 2014 volumes, while the total renewable standard requires growth from 2014 to 2016 of over 1.8 billion gallons of biofuel, or 11% higher than 2014 actual volumes. Biodiesel standards grow steadily over the next several years, increasing every year to reach 2 billion gallons by 2017.

Rule History

On June 10, 2015, EPA published the proposed volume requirements and associated percentage standards that would apply under the RFS program in calendar years 2014, 2015, and 2016 for cellulosic biofuel, biomass-based diesel, advanced biofuel, and total renewable fuel, and the proposed volume requirement for biomass-based diesel for 2017.

Additional Resources

Rulemaking and supporting documents.

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