Q-RINs emerge in the renewable fuels market
December 23, 2014
BY Genscape Inc.
After the U.S. EPA's final Quality Assurance Plan rule established a new, unified QAP program over the summer, Q-RINs have been successfully transferred in the RIN market. “[In December] we received confirmation from a RIN buyer that it received Genscape verified Q-RINs in EMTS,” said Susan Olson, vice president of biofuels at Genscape. “This ushers in the new era of QAP verification, a single streamlined Q-RIN program that can be easily verified in EMTS.”
In its final rulemaking, the EPA indicated that Q-RINs would be available in EMTS by Jan. 1, 2015. The EMTS system has enabled QAP verified RIN transactions ahead of that date via the most recent release of the RIN transaction system.
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There are two QAP Service Type Codes related to RIN transactions that are part of the latest version of EMTS. The code number 10 corresponds to “Q-RIN” and code number 30 corresponds to “Unverified.” These are the only possible code values so far.
Olson commented that RIN generators must complete their Electronic Signature Authorizations to be able to associate with a QAP provider. The association must be completed for verified generators to have their RINs flagged as Q-RINs in EMTS. “We’re helping our clients with this process,” Olson said.
“As with any new system development, there are still some minor things to be resolved. Based on recent progress we believe that more than 15 percent of active RIN generators across fuel types will be ready for Q-RIN generation near the beginning of the 2015 calendar year. RIN buyers should see an increasing number of Q-RINs available for purchase in Q1 2015.”
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“We will continue to verify A-RINs and B-RINs through the end of calendar year 2014 for those generators that still need them. But for RINs generated after Dec. 31, the A- and B- verification programs will statutorily end. We will, of course, continue to provide proof of validation of those A-RINs and B-RINs as well as necessary replacement of A-RINs through their lifecycle.”
Genscape is an EPA-registered QAP provider for Q-RINs and currently performs QAP services for 66 RFS2 registered facilities. The company has provided QAP-A and QAP-B services going back to Jan. 1, 2013, verifying 250 million RINs.
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