Platts to modify CI for renewable diesel margin indicators, Jan. 2, 2026

Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, will modify the carbon intensity (CI) for the Renewable Diesel (RD) Soybean Margin Indicator (RRDFJ00) and RD Tallow Margin Indicator (RRDFK00), considering the latest guidance stated in the Big Beautiful Bill Act, effective Jan. 2, 2026.

The modification was initially proposed on Nov. 3, as detailed in a note available here. After considering feedback and conducting an operational analysis, Platts will launch the project effective Jan. 2, 2026, instead of Jan. 5, 2026.

According to the Big Beautiful Bill Act, the emissions rate shall be adjusted to exclude any emissions attributed to Indirect Land Use Change (ILUC) from the calculation of the Clean Fuel Production Credit (CFPC). These amendments apply to transportation fuels produced in 2026.

In line with the Big Beautiful Bill Act, Platts will modify the reference carbon intensity for the margin indicators to reflect the change for the calculation of the CFPC while maintaining the ILUC for the Low Carbon Fuel Standard credit calculation.

Market feedback indicated that the proposed carbon intensity (CI) for the RD Margin Indicator Soybean Oil for LCFS is below the current market practice.

Therefore, Platts will update the RD Margin Indicator Soybean Oil for LCFS from 37.91 gCO2/MJ (or 40 kgCO2/MMBtu) to 52.8 gCO2/MJ (or 55.71 kgCO2/MMBtu) using California Air Resources Board's (CARB's) land use change (LUC) values for use in CI determination for US soy biomass-based diesel, which is 29.1 gCO2/MJ.

The CI values are derived from S&P Global Energy research and analytics data, based on the 45ZCF-GREET model excluding ILUC and rounded to the nearest multiple of 5 kgCO2/MMBtu. RD Soybean Oil CI for LCFS calculation will include CARB's LUC value for US soy biomass-based diesel.

The reference CI scores for the tallow and soybean oil margin indicators will be the following:

Platts publishes the RD margin indicators in Platts Connect, Biofuelscan, Biomass-Based Diesel Report and fixed pages PBF0010, PBF0011 and PBF0012.

Please submit any feedback, comments, or questions about this mrts_biofuelsandfeedstocks@spglobal.com, and pricegroup@spglobal.com .

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