Understanding and Informing the Policy Environment: State-Level Renewable Fuels Standards

Renewable fuels standard (RFS) policies are becoming a popular public policy mechanism for developing the market for renewable fuels in the transportation sector. During the past decade, U.S. states and several countries began implementing these more market-based (less command and control) policies to support increased biofuels production and use. This paper presents an overview of current andproposed U.S. state-level policies, as well as selected electric sector policies and international fuel standard policies. Current U.S. state-level renewable fuel policies list drivers including an improved economy and environment, as well as fuel self-sufficiency. Best practices and experience from an evaluation of renewable portfolio standards (RPS) in the United States and international RFSpolicies can inform U.S. state-level policy by illustrating the importance of policy flexibility, binding targets, effective cost caps, and tradable permits. Understanding and building on the experiences from these previous policies can improve the policy mechanism and further develop a market for renewable fuels to meet the goals of improved economy, environment, and fuel self-sufficiency.