Comment Log Display

Subject: Concerns Regarding CARB's LCFS Policies on Renewable
Diesel and Sustainable Aviation Fuel and the 20% Cap

Dear CARB Executive Officer,

Although the California Air Resources Board's (CARB's) Low Carbon
Fuel Standard (LCFS) amendments are moving in the right direction,
I am writing to express my concern regarding the potential limits
of the stringency and environmental effectiveness of "20% cap"
amended policy on renewable diesel when using virgin food oils,
such as soybean and canola oil feedstock. 

The following are my specific points on the 20% cap, that is
followed in the postscript to this letter containing excerpts from
my Tier 2 Comments to CARB:

•	The proposed 20% cap even for a single California refiner, raises
significant concerns, regarding whether this cap applies to
individual refineries or across multiple facilities operated by the
same company. If it applies company-wide, this could allow
companies with multiple refineries in California to effectively
double their use of virgin food oils, leading to a substantial
increase in the one company's use of soy or canola oils for
renewable diesel production.

•	CARB's 20% cap on virgin food oils is not considering the
possibility that despite a potential future cap at the two existing
California renewable diesel refineries, there could be an overall
increase in the total statewide growth of renewable diesel
production using soy and canola oil, because renewable diesel can
be produced 15 major petroleum refineries in California, not merely
two, as currently. 

•	The "per company" 20% cap on virgin soy and canola oil feedstock
for renewable diesel production does not account for the same
refinery's (potential) simultaneous production of Sustainable
Aviation Fuel (SAF) using the same soy and canola oil feedstock,
thus increasing the refinery's total cumulative use of food-based
feedstocks.

•	The 20% cap does not place any pressure (or requirement) on the
refineries to substitute any portion of their existing fossil
fuel-produced hydrogen with green hydrogen (made, instead, using
solar-powered hydrolysis). 

•	The arbitrary 20% cap does not take into account the actual
embedded CO2 in the farm-to-wheel lifecycle of renewable diesel (or
SAF) produced from virgin food oil versus renewable diesel (or SAF)
produced from waste food oils, fats and greases.

•	The 20% cap amendment for soy and canola oil feedstock is not
applicable for companies already certified before the amendment
takes effect (and where more than 20% of their reported biodiesel
and renewable diesel in 2023 was already derived from virgin
soybean or canola oil), the new provision would take effect on
January 1, 2028, to allow time for feedstock supply contracts to be
adjusted.

•	The Environmental Impact Report for the world's two largest
renewable diesel projects revealed that the refineries availability
of high-GHG natural gas-derived hydrogen is more rate limiting than
the availability of the virgin food oil stock itself.

•	California already uses 47% of all soy grown for biodiesel and
renewable diesel, combined, while waste lipid feedstock supplies
are expected to be constrained, indefinitely, so that the amount of
total virgin food oil used will be larger than waste food
oils.(Soybean oil rapidly gaining ground as renewable diesel
feedstock. Successful Farming. Chuck Abbot (2023) 
https://www.agriculture.com/soybean-oil-rapidly-gaining-ground-as-renewable-diesel-feedstock-8419071)

Thank you for considering my concerns.
Sincerely,
Charles Davidson
Hercules, CA
charlesdavidson@me.com

PS: ATTACHED: 
See attachment for Post Script for accompanying Tier 2 Comments on
the LCFS regarding renewable diesel (that are relevant to my
comments on the proposed LCFS amendments):

The Unsustainability of Virgin Food Oil-Based Renewable Diesel
Biofuels: Questions for the California Air Resources Board. Charles
Davidson. (6/2024) charlesdavidson@me.com

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