The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) is a U.S. federal program that requires a volume of renewable fuel be blended into gasoline and diesel fuel. This program was enacted as part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and expanded by virtue of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, both times with broad bipartisan support.

By requiring renewable fuels be utilized in traditional petroleum products such as transportation fuel and heating oil, the RFS reduces the amount of petroleum-based fuel burned each year. This not only achieves one of the purposes of the RFS program—to reduce greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere—but also generates jobs, revives rural economies, reduces dependence on foreign oil, and keeps gasoline prices low. The program requires an increasing amount of renewable fuel be blended into gasoline and diesel each year, escalating to a goal of 36 billion gallons by 2022.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administers the RFS program by setting annual volume requirements for several types of renewable fuels, including biodiesel.

The 2.1 billion gallons of biodiesel and renewable diesel used by Americans in 2015 supported $8.4 billion in economic impact across a wide variety of economic sectors, along with 47,400 jobs and $1.9 billion in wages paid.