It has now been almost three weeks since Biden administration officials failed to meet a March 1 deadline to adopt the U.S. Department of Energy’s GREET model for the calculation of SAF tax credits (40B) under the Inflation Reduction Act, and groups representing farmers and ethanol producers who would benefit are getting impatient.
A letter was sent this week to Treasury Department Secretary Janet Yellen by 26 organizations across 13 states, including the Renewable Fuels Association, Clean Fuels Alliance America, National Corn Growers Association, and various state corn grower groups.
“We are disappointed that the administration did not fulfill its commitment to release a modified GREET model by March 1, but we appreciate the importance of getting the modeling right. At the same time, we caution against contradictory changes to GREET that would stack unwarranted penalties on agricultural feedstocks, cut rural America out of a promising green energy market, and undermine any realistic path to achieving U.S. SAF goals.”
There has been nothing more said by officials since Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told attendees at the Commodity Classic on March 1 that they were “going to take a few more weeks – and I mean weeks, not months – to make sure that the guidance is correct.” Vilsack has made several appearances in the past few weeks but has not mentioned anything further.
In this interview, South Dakota farmer Ron Alverson with Dakota Ethanol gives a good explanation of the GREET model and the importance of including climate smart agriculture (CSA) practices and making sure land use change is evaluated correctly. Listen here: Ron Alverson, South Dakota 7:58