Renewable Identification Number

A Renewable Identification Number (or RIN) is a serial number assigned to a batch of biofuel for the purpose of tracking its production, use, and trading as required by the United States Environmental Protection Agency's Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) implemented according to the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

Under the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the EPA is authorized to set annual quotas dictating what percentage of the total amount of motor fuels consumed in the US must be represented by biofuel blended into fossil fuels. Companies that refine, import or blend fossil fuels are obligated to meet certain individual RFS quotas based on the volume of fuel they introduce into the market. By fulfilling these requirements, the EPA projects that the industry will collectively satisfy the overall national quota they set. To ensure compliance, obligated parties are periodically required to demonstrate they have met their RFS quota by submitting a certain amount of RINs to the EPA. Because each of these RINs represent an amount of biofuel that has been blended into fossil fuels, the RINs submitted to the EPA by obligated parties are a quantitative representation of the amount of biofuel that has been blended into the fossil fuels used in America.

RIN components

As defined in the regulation:[1] Under RFS2, each batch-RIN generated will continue to uniquely identify not only a specific batch of renewable fuel, but also every gallon-RIN assigned to that batch. Thus the RIN will continue to be defined as follows:

RIN: KYYYYCCCCFFFFFBBBBBRRDSSSSSSSSEEEEEEEE

Where:

RIN fraud

Renewable Identification Numbers can be sold and traded separately from the biofuels that created them. This has given rise to instances of "RIN fraud", where improperly created RINs have been sold without any manufacture of corresponding biofuels.[2]

References

  1. ↑ ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY 40 CFR Part 80 [EPA-HQ-OAR-2005-0161; FRL-XXXX-X] RIN 2060-A081 Regulation of Fuels and Fuel Additives: Changes to Renewable Fuel Standard Program
  2. ↑ "Green Diesel offices raided, Absolute Fuels CEO remains in custody". Retrieved Aug 3, 2012.

Further reading