In an upcoming proposal on biofuel blending standards, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is expected to recommend that electric vehicles (EVs) be eligible for renewable fuel credits.
A report by Reuters, citing three people with knowledge of the situation, said the EPA is expected to submit the proposal to the White House for approval by the end of next week.
If the proposal is approved, the addition of EVs would be one of the biggest changes to the federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) since it started more than ten years ago, Reuters reports.
When reached for comment, the EPA did not confirm the report, only saying they plan to meet the deadline to implement the RFS program.
The RFS requires oil refiners to add billions of gallons of biofuels to the country’s fuel pool or purchase tradeable credits, or RINs, from those who already do.
The potential inclusion is significant for Tesla as they might be able to profit and receive access to a new sort of credit, known in the industry as e-RINs, or electric RINS, if the EPA expands the RFS program to include EVs.
The possibility of EVs being included in the program is bolstered by the fact that the White House been consulting with Tesla on that very matter. Earlier this year emails reviewed by Reuters showed the administration was attempting to expand the scope of RFS to promote EVs.
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