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Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help

Table 1 in 80.1426 does not include a coal fired ethanol plant. If a coal fired plant can be demonstrated as "grandfathered-in," can we assume the ethanol produced will have a D code of 6?

Per 80.1403(c), all facilities (including coal-fired facilities) for which construction commenced prior to December 19, 2007 and which completed construction within 36 months without an 18 month hiatus in construction may qualify for grandfathered status regardless of the fuel used to provide process heat in the plant.

If the fuel from such facilities satisfies the definition of "renewable fuel," including the requirement that the feedstock used to make the fuel is " renewable biomass" it is eligible for RIN generation, with a D code of 6, as described in 80.1426(f)(6)(ii).

Ethanol facilities that commenced construction after December 19, 2007 but no later than December 31, 2009, are grandfathered only if they are also fired with natural gas, biogas, or combination thereof. (See 80.1403(d)). Thus coal fired facilities for which construction commences after December 19, 2007, cannot qualify as "grandfathered" facilities.