Congress Passing Year-Round E15 Paramount After Credit for Ethanol-based Sustainable Aviation Fuel Cut in Bill

Contact: Monte Shaw
515-252-6249

WEST DES MOINES, IA – Following U.S. Senate passage, today the U.S. House of Representatives passed President Trump’s wide-ranging Big Beautiful Bill, a budget reconciliation measure. The bill now goes to President Trump who is expected to sign it. The renewable fuels community worked hard on the bill to extend and modify the Clean Fuel Production Tax Credit known as 45Z.

“IRFA members are excited by the extension of 45Z through 2029,” said Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) Executive Director Monte Shaw. “Countries around the world and many of our states are demanding ultra-low carbon fuels. The Big Beautiful Bill helps pave the way for the investments to produce those fuels – and to produce them from North America feedstocks. IRFA thanks Iowa’s Senators and House members who worked so tirelessly to ensure 45Z was included and improved during this process.”

The biodiesel industry has struggled in 2025 from low Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) blending levels and uncertainty around implementation of the original 45Z tax credit, leading several Iowa biodiesel plants to idle. The Big Beautiful Bill includes several provisions that are expected to boost biodiesel demand.

“This bill not only extends the 45Z tax credit through 2029, but it also restores transferability of the credit which is critical for many renewable fuel producers who do not have large tax liabilities,” said Shaw. “Further, led by Sen. Chuck Grassley, the final bill includes a restoration of the small biodiesel producer tax credit for 2025 and 2026. We are hopeful this provision, along with the robust RFS blending levels proposed by President Trump’s EPA, will be enough to get our biodiesel plants running again.”

In an unexpected move, the bill lowered the incentive for producing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from $1.75 to $1.00 and made technical changes which make it difficult for a SAF producer using ethanol as their feedstock to claim the credit. SAF has the potential to be a 100 billion gallon a year market by 2050.

“As they move on from this legislation, Congress must remove the outdated and unnecessary restrictions on nationwide, year-round E15 this year,” said Shaw. “With the ag economy hurting, we must drive demand for ethanol and, thereby, for corn. Today’s bill will not boost the ethanol-to-SAF market the way we hoped. We will continue to look for ways to restore that. But the time for excuses on E15 is over. E15 represents the best short-term way to boost ethanol demand, corn grind and farm income. Every farmer I talk to says they don’t want bailouts, they want markets. E15 is that market. IRFA members will be working with our delegation to make 2025 the year E15 is unleashed.”

Shaw added: “Iowa renewable fuels producers and farmers are ready to do their part to maximize American energy dominance. We will continue to work with President Trump and our biofuels champions in Congress to ensure the Midwest is a key part of the strategy. That’s how we enhance energy security, boost markets for farmers, and create demand for renewable fuels. The Big Beautiful Bill was a solid step in the right direction. Let’s not hesitate to take the next steps by finalizing the robust RFS proposal and giving every U.S. consumer the choice to buy E15.”

 

The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association represents the state’s liquid renewable fuels industry and works to foster its growth. Iowa is the nation’s leader in renewable fuels production with 42 ethanol refineries capable of producing 4.7 billion gallons annually – including 34 million gallons of annual cellulosic ethanol production capacity – and 10 biodiesel facilities with the capacity to produce 416 million gallons annually. For more information, visit the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association website at: www.IowaRFA.org.

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