EPA data show RIN prices remain elevated in May 2026
D4 RINs averaged $1.84 in May, up nearly 90% from a year earlier as EPA and EIA pointed to tighter blending economics.
The EPA on June 18 said D4 biomass-based diesel RINs averaged $1.84 in May 2026, up nearly 90% from May 2025. D5 advanced biofuel RINs averaged $1.94, up nearly 78%, and D6 renewable fuel RINs averaged $1.78, up nearly 112%, while D3 cellulosic RINs eased about 4% to $2.44.
The monthly averages showed the premium still sitting with the biomass-based diesel side of the market. D3 Q-RINs averaged $2.43 in May, and unverified D3 RINs averaged $2.48. D4 Q-RINs averaged $1.92 and unverified D4 RINs averaged $1.81, while D5 Q-RINs averaged $2.00 and unverified D5 RINs averaged $1.92. D6 Q-RINs and unverified D6 RINs both averaged $1.78.
The price strength followed EPA’s March 27 final Renewable Fuel Standard rule for 2026 and 2027, which set the highest-ever RFS volumes, required 15 billion gallons of conventional renewable fuel in both years and reallocated 70% of small-refinery exemption volumes granted for 2023 through 2025. The Renewable Fuels Association said the rule provided certainty and stability to the marketplace, while the American Petroleum Institute said EPA’s clarity came with a market-distorting reallocation of SRE volumes.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said on June 10 that higher blending targets were the main reason RIN values had doubled since the start of the year. As of June 4, D4 RINs traded at $2.41 and D6 RINs at $2.37, both near the all-time highs set in 2021. EIA said biodiesel generates 1.5 RINs per gallon and renewable diesel generates 1.6 to 1.7 RINs per gallon, which lifted those fuels to more than $3.50 per gallon in credit value. EIA also said the ethanol discount to gasoline was more than $2 per gallon in May and June after RIN value.
EPA said no new small refinery exemption petitions were filed in the past month, leaving 40 pending. The agency said nearly 2.02 billion RINs were generated in May 2026 and 9.66 billion were generated in the first five months of the year, up more than 4% from the same period in 2025. May 2025 generation totaled 1.75 billion RINs, underscoring how the tighter mandate and pending SRE docket kept compliance demand elevated into midyear.
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