The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), through its Alternative Fuels and Feedstocks Office (AFFO), released a pre-publication draft of a Federal Register notice outlining the Emissions Value Request (EVR) process for the Section 45Z Clean Fuel Production Tax Credit. Modified and extended under the Working Families Tax Cut, the tax credit incentivizes qualifying transportation fuels produced using eligible feedstocks from the United States, Mexico, or Canada. According to Assistant Secretary of Energy Audrey Robertson, the initiative aims to strengthen domestic energy production, support American farmers and fuel producers, and expand access to clean fuel tax incentives.
Under the 45Z program, transportation fuel producers must determine their fuel’s life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions rate using the applicable emissions rate table to claim the tax credit. If a fuel’s type, primary feedstock, or production pathway is not listed, producers must petition the U.S. Department of the Treasury for a provisional emissions rate (PER). The EVR process enables applicants to obtain an emissions value from DOE, which can then support their petition to Treasury for a PER.
To request an emissions value, applicants must submit a completed EVR form and engineering information or analyses consistent with the relevant front-end engineering and design (FEED) study requirements, or other evidence of project maturity as determined by DOE. Applicants may also provide additional information to support the life-cycle emissions analysis of their fuel production pathway. The process is intended to help eligible fuel producers access tax incentives, encourage domestic alternative fuel production, and support investment in the U.S. energy sector.
