For any calendar year for which the projected volume of cellulosic biofuel production is less than the applicable volume of cellulosic biofuel set forth in Clean Air Act (CAA), EPA must reduce the required volume of cellulosic biofuel for that year to the projected volume, and must provide obligated parties the opportunity to purchase cellulosic waiver credits (CWC). The price of these credits is determined using a formula specified in CAA section 211(o)(2)(B)(III).

The cellulosic waiver credit price is the greater of $0.25 or $3.00 minus the wholesale price of gasoline, where both the $0.25 and $3.00 are adjusted for inflation. In a rule published in April 2015, EPA stated our intention to announce future CWC prices by posting a notice on our “Renewable Fuels: Regulations & Standards” website. This document serves the required notice that the Cellulosic Waiver Credit price for 2018 is $1.96.

To determine the CWC price, EPA first determines the average wholesale (refinery gate) price of gasoline using the most recent twelve monthly values for U.S. Total Gasoline Bulk Sales (Price) by Refiners as provided by the Energy Information Administration that are available as of September 30 of the year preceding the compliance period. For 2018, the most recent 12 months for which data were available as of September 30, 2017 covers July 2016 through June 2017. The data can be found at: (https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&s=EMA_EPM0_PBR_NUS_DPG&f=M)

• Cellulosic Waiver Credit Price Calculation for 2018 (PDF) (4 pp, 478 K, EPA-420-B-17-036, December 2017, About PDF)