The Trump administration has released an eagerly awaited update to its GREET model, a tool used by the biofuel industry to determine the value of the Clean Fuel Production Tax Credit more commonly known as 45Z.  

The revised model issued by the Energy Department on Friday pulls in changes Congress made to 45Z in last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, including getting rid of indirect land-use change penalties on U.S. renewable fuels. The move quickly drew praise from biofuel groups.  

Producers had been concerned that if an update came too late in the current tax year, some companies wouldn’t be able to claim the credit.  

“This increased certainty will help our industry achieve the administration’s goals of generating more domestic energy and creating new domestic market opportunities for farmers – both of which are critical right now,” said Kurt Kovarik, vice president of federal affairs for Clean Fuels Alliance America, which represents the biomass-based diesel and sustainable aviation fuel industries.  

The new model also builds on recent federal biofuel policies that have become the bright spot in an otherwise struggling economy for grain and oilseed farmers.  

"American farmers and ethanol producers are driving innovation in liquid fuels, and a strong, well-implemented 45Z Clean Fuel Production Credit promises to rebuild farm income and open long-term markets for American manufacturing,” said Emily Skor, chief executive officer for Growth Energy, a leading ethanol trade group.   

Along with removing a “flawed” indirect land-use change policy, Skor praised the update for supporting the eligibility of undenatured fuel ethanol for American exports.  

“The new model marks an important step toward building a regulatory regime that unleashes the full potential of 45Z,” Skor said. “We applaud DOE for its work and look forward to continued work by Treasury and USDA to implement final 45Z regulations that set American farmers and ethanol producers on a path toward future success.”  

GREET, which stands for Greenhouse gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy use in Technologies, assesses the environmental impacts associated with fuels starting from the farm.  

It’s what many U.S. producers will use to calculate the lifecycle emissions, or carbon intensity, of their fuels. That carbon intensity score is used to determine the value of the 45Z credit.  

In the U.S. corn-based ethanol industry, for example, many companies have been racing to lower their carbon emissions to fully benefit from 45Z and similar incentives in states like California.  

“This model update is critically important to the ethanol industry in its many operational and investment decisions, and especially as part of the 45Z Clean Fuel Production Credit implementation,” said Geoff Cooper, CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association, a top ethanol trade group. “We look forward to reviewing the new model thoroughly and helping our members move forward with it.”

Monte Shaw, executive director of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association, said the update "better reflects the role of U.S. biofuels in reducing emissions and supporting rural economies. It moves away from flawed, unscientific assumptions about biofuels and better recognizes their true carbon benefits."

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