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4.4 – Energy Draft Environmental Impact Report February 2021 14800 W. Schulte Road Logistics Center 4.4-3 The RFS program was created under the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and established the first renewable fuel volume mandate in the United States. As required under the Energy Policy Act, the original RFS program (RFS1) required 7.5 billion gallons of renewable fuel to be blended into gasoline by 2012. Under the EISA, the RFS program was expanded in several key ways that laid the foundation for achieving significant reductions of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through the use of renewable fuels, for reducing imported petroleum, and for encouraging the development and expansion of our nation’s renewable fuels sector. The updated program (RFS2) includes the following: • EISA expanded the RFS program to include diesel, in addition to gasoline. • EISA increased the volume of renewable fuel required to be blended into transportation fuel from 9 billion gallons in 2008 to 36 billion gallons by 2022. • EISA established new categories of renewable fuel and set separate volume requirements for each one. • EISA required the EPA to apply lifecycle GHG performance threshold standards to ensure that each category of renewable fuel emits fewer GHGs than the petroleum fuel it replaces. Additional provisions of the EISA address energy savings in government and public institutions, promoting research for alternative energy, additional research in carbon capture, international energy programs, and the c reation of “green” jobs. State Warren–Alquist Act The California Legislature passed the Warren–Alquist Act in 1974, which created the CEC. The legislation also incorporated the following three key provisions designed to address the demand side of the energy equation: • It directed the CEC to formulate and adopt the nation’s first energy conservation standards for buildings constructed and appliances sold in California. • The act removed the responsibility of electricity demand forecasting from the utilities, which had a financial interest in high-demand projections, and transferred it to a more impartial CEC. • The CEC was directed to embark on an ambitious research and development program, with a particular focus on fostering what were characterized as non-conventional energy sources. State of California Energy Action Plan The CEC and CPUC approved the first State of California Energy Action Plan in 2003. The plan established shared goals and specific actions to ensure the provision of adequate, reliable, and reasonably priced electrical power and natural gas supplies; it also identified cost-effective and environmentally sound energy policies, strategies, and actions for California’s consumers and taxpayers. In 2005, the CEC and CPUC adopted a second Energy Action Plan to reflect various policy changes and actions of the prior 2 years. At the beginning of 2008, the CEC and CPUC determined that it was not necessary or productive to prepare a new energy action plan. This determination was based, in part, on a finding that the state’s energy policies have been significantly influenced by the passage of Assembly Bill (AB) 32, the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (discussed below). Rather than produce a new energy action plan, the CEC and CPUC prepared an “update” that examines the state’s ongoing actions in the context of global climate change.