US EPA Finalizes RFS Volumes for 2026 and 2027 Under "Set 2" Rule

The final rule places advanced biofuel volumes at 11.10 billion RINs in 2026, setting the US compliance baseline that SAF producers are scaling to meet.

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SAFpath News Desk

March 30, 2026

Image Source: SAF Path

Summary: The US Environmental Protection Agency finalized its "Set 2" Renewable Fuel Standard rule on March 27, 2026, establishing required biofuel volumes through 2027 and reallocating 70% of small refinery exemptions granted for 2023 to 2025.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized its “Set 2” Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) rule on March 27, 2026, setting total renewable fuel volumes at 26.81 billion RINs for 2026 and 27.02 billion RINs for 2027.

For the sustainable aviation fuel industry, the rule carries direct market significance. The advanced biofuel category, which includes SAF, is mandated at 11.10 billion RINs in 2026 and 11.32 billion RINs in 2027. These figures represent the US compliance baseline that SAF producers are scaling to meet. A useful parallel is already unfolding in the UK, where airlines reported over $1.3 billion in excess charges during the first year of that country’s SAF mandate, illustrating the cost implications when supply cannot keep pace with statutory volumes.

The advanced biofuel mandate of 11.10 billion RINs in 2026 defines the US compliance floor that SAF producers are building their capacity plans around.

The “Set 2” rule also addresses small refinery exemptions (SREs). The EPA is reallocating 70% of SREs granted for 2023 through 2025, reducing the pool of exemptions available to smaller refiners and effectively increasing the demand obligation on the broader market. Fewer exemptions mean more obligated parties must meet their RFS targets through actual biofuel blending or RIN purchases, tightening the effective market for compliant fuels including SAF.

On cellulosic biofuels, the EPA partially waived the 2025 volume requirement, citing a production shortfall. Final volumes for cellulosic biofuel are set at 1.36 billion RINs in 2026 and 1.43 billion RINs in 2027. Biomass-based diesel volumes are set at 9.07 billion RINs in 2026 and 9.20 billion RINs in 2027.

The rule also removes renewable electricity, commonly referred to as eRINs, as a qualifying renewable fuel under the RFS. That decision narrows the pathway for electrification-based compliance credits, keeping the mandate focused on liquid biofuels and reinforcing the compliance role of drop-in fuels like SAF.

With the rule now finalized, SAF producers, obligated parties, and RIN market participants will be calibrating their 2026 compliance strategies around these volumes. Whether US production capacity grows fast enough to meet the advanced biofuel mandate without significant RIN price pressure is the central question heading into the compliance period.

Source: US EPA

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