Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 38, September 20, 2024
(a) For purposes of fuel pathway carbon
intensity determination, all new LCFS fuel pathways certified after January 1,
2019 (or the effective date of this regulation) shall be classified as either
a:
(1) Lookup Table pathway;
(2) Tier 1 pathway; or
(3) Tier 2 pathway, as described
below.
(b)
Lookup
Table Classification. Pathways falling under this classification are
the simplest pathways to use. The Board's staff develops Lookup Table pathway
CI values using the CA-GREET3.0 model. Input variables and assumptions are
provided in the CA-GREET3.0 Lookup Table Pathways -- Technical Support
Documentation (August 13, 2018), which is incorporated herein by reference.
(1)
Lookup Table Pathways That Do Not
Require a Fuel Pathway Application. The following pathways are
developed using average values for inputs into the CA-GREET3.0 model, which are
not expected to vary significantly across providers of the fuel. Entities
seeking to generate credits under the pathways listed in 95488.1(b)(1)(A)
through (E) may report fuel transactions directly in the LRT-CBTS without
taking any action in the AFP.
(A) California
Reformulated Gasoline Blendstock for Oxygenate Blending (CARBOB)
(B) California Ultra-low Sulfur Diesel
(ULSD)
(C) Compressed Natural
Gas
(D) Propane
(E) Electricity (California average
grid)
(2)
Lookup
Table Pathways That Require a Fuel Pathway Application. Fuel pathway
applicants for the following Lookup Table pathways must register in the AFP and
meet the application requirements of section
95488.5(b). Fuel
pathway applicants may then report fuel transactions in the LRT-CBTS for the
fuel pathways listed in 95488.1(b)(2)(A) through (F).
(A) Electricity (100 percent zero-CI sources,
which include: eligible renewable energy resources as defined in California
Public Utilities Code sections
399.11-
399.36,
excluding biomass, biomethane, geothermal, and municipal solid waste)
(B) Electricity associated with smart
charging pathway for EV charging and smart electrolysis pathway for hydrogen
production through electrolysis
(C)
Hydrogen (gaseous and liquefied) from central SMR of North American
fossil-based natural gas
(D)
Hydrogen (gaseous and liquefied) from central SMR of biomethane
(E) Hydrogen (gaseous) from electrolysis
using California grid-average electricity
(F) Hydrogen (gaseous) from electrolysis
using electricity from a zero-CI source as defined in (A)
above
(c)
Tier 1 Classification. The Tier 1 pathway classification
applies to fuel pathway categories that the Board's staff has extensive
experience evaluating. This classification includes fuel pathways for which the
Executive Officer has identified a discrete set of site-specific inputs that
can be modified to achieve CI changes. CI values for Tier 1 fuel pathways are
determined using Board-approved Simplified CI Calculators. The Simplified CI
Calculators provide a framework for applicants to enter monthly operational
data inputs that are combined with emission factors and life cycle inventory
data from the CA-GREET3.0 model to calculate the pathway CI. The Tier 1
classification includes, but is not limited to, the following fuel pathways:
(1) Ethanol derived from starch or fiber in
corn kernels or grain sorghum, and sugarcane;
(2) Biodiesel produced from feedstocks
including but not limited to oilseed crop-derived oils; rendered animal fat,
distiller's corn oil, distiller's sorghum oil, and used cooking oil;
(3) Renewable Diesel produced by
hydrotreatment of feedstocks in a stand-alone reactor, including but not
limited to oilseed crop-derived oils, rendered tallow, distiller's corn oil,
distiller's sorghum oil, and used cooking oil;
(4) LNG and L-CNG from North American fossil
natural gas; and
(5) Biomethane
from North American landfills, anaerobic digestion of wastewater sludge, dairy
and swine manure, and food, urban landscaping waste, and other organic
waste.
(d)
Tier 2
Classification. The Tier 2 pathway classification shall apply to fuel
pathways that the Board's staff has limited experience evaluating and
certifying, including fuel pathways that are not currently in widespread
commercial production. The Tier 2 classification includes all fuel pathways not
included in Tier 1 or the Lookup Table pathways. The Tier 2 classification
includes, but is not limited to the following fuel pathways:
(1) Cellulosic alcohols;
(2) Biomethane from sources other than those
listed under the Tier 1 classification in (c)(5), above;
(3) Hydrogen pathways not found in the Lookup
Table;
(4) Electricity pathways not
found in the Lookup Table;
(5)
Drop-in fuels (renewable hydrocarbons) except for renewable diesel produced
from feedstocks described in section
95488.1(c)(3).
This category includes fuels produced from low carbon feedstocks co-processed
with fossil feedstocks in petroleum refineries;
(6) Any fuel produced from unconventional
feedstocks, such as algae oil;
(7)
Pathways classified as Tier 1 that are produced using innovative production
methods. Innovative production methods include, but are not limited to:
(A) Use of one or more low-CI process energy
sources.
(B) Use of carbon capture
and sequestration. (Projects that utilize carbon capture and sequestration are
subject to the provisions of section
95490).
(C) Pathways classified as Tier 1 that cannot
be accurately modeled using the Simplified CI Calculators. Such pathways must
meet the substantiality requirements of
95488.9(a).
1. New
section filed 1-4-2019; operative 1-4-2019 pursuant to Government Code section
11343.4(b)(3)
(Register 2019, No. 1).
Note: Authority cited: Sections
38510,
38530,
38560,
38560.5,
38571,
38580,
39600,
39601,
41510,
41511
and
43018,
Health and Safety Code; 42
U.S.C. section 7545; and Western Oil and Gas
Ass'n v. Orange County Air Pollution Control District, 14 Cal.3d 411, 121
Cal.Rptr. 249 (1975). Reference: Sections
38501,
38510,
39515,
39516,
38571,
38580,
39000,
39001,
39002,
39003,
39515,
39516,
41510,
41511
and
43000,
Health and Safety Code; Section
25000.5,
Public Resources Code; and Western Oil and Gas Ass'n v. Orange County Air
Pollution Control District, 14 Cal.3d 411, 121 Cal.Rptr. 249
(1975).
