City of Portland’s Renewable Fuels Standard
Portland City Code 16.60.010 defines biodiesel as ”a renewable alternative to diesel fuel that consists of mono-alkyl esters of long chain fatty acids derived from plant or animal matter that meets the registration requirements for fuels and fuel additives established by the Environmental Protection Agency and standards established by the American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM).”
Portland City Code 16.60.010 defines renewable disesel as “a renewable alternative to diesel fuel that is produced through various thermochemical processes such as hydrotreating, gasification, and pyrolysis and is derived from plant or animal matter. Renewable diesel is chemically the same as petroleum diesel fuel. Renewable diesel meets the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) specification ASTM D975 for petroleum diesel may be used in existing petroleum pipelines, storage tanks, and diesel engines.”
Fuel used for the operation of railroad locomotives, watercraft, aircraft, or emergency equipment are excluded from the standards.
You can read Renewable Fuels Standards in Portland’s City Code Chapter 16.60 Motor Vehicles Fuels.
“Sustainable” Aviation Fuel
I Squared Capital Accelerates U.S. Energy Transition with Acquisition of Oregon’s Premier Renewable Fuels Terminal, Business Wire, December 17, 2025
Private equity firm to buy Zenith Energy, Portland’s controversial fuel terminal, by Gosia Wozniacka, The Oregonian, December 16, 2025
Portland International Airport receives first shipment of sustainable aviation fuel, by Joe Ranieri, KGW, December 15, 2025
Is the world’s big idea for greener air travel a flight of fancy?, by Matteo Civillini, Climate Home News, October 8, 2025
Portland Airport to Receive First Shipment of Sustainable Aviation Fuel from Zenith Energy’s Portland Terminal, Zenith Energy Press Release, September 3, 2025
“Green Aviation” Exception in GOP Budget Bill Is a “Big, Beautiful” Bipartisan Boondoggle, by Michael Grunwald, Mother Jones, June 8, 2025
The United States Should Not Turn Food Into Aviation Fuel, World Resources Institute, January 31, 2025
Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF): A critical analysis with a focus on agriculture, land, and food, National Farmers Union, November 2024
Zenith Energy Signs Historic Customer Contract, Becoming Largest Renewable Fuel Terminal in Oregon, Zenith Energy press release, November 19, 2024
‘Magical thinking’: hopes for sustainable jet fuel not realistic, report finds, by Oliver Milman, The Guardian, May 14, 2024
Report: Greenwashing the Skies: How the Private Jet Lobby Uses “Sustainable Aviation Fuels” as a Marketing Ploy, by Chuck Collins, Omar Ocampo, and Kalena Thomhave, Institute for Policy Studies, May 14, 2024
Under New Guidance, 'Sustainable' Aviation Fuel in the US Could Be Anything But, by Dan Lashof and Audrey Denvir, World Resources Institute, May 9, 2024
Flying Green: The Pursuit of Carbon-neutral Aviation Revs Up, by Christian Schwägerl, Yale Environment 360, February 8, 2024
Biofuels
Environmental sustainability of biofuels: a review, by Jeswani HK, Chilvers A, Azapagic A., Proc Math Phys Eng Sci., November 25, 2020
The Water Footprint of Biofuels: A Drink or Drive Issue?, by R. Dominguez-Faus, Susan E. Powers, Joel G. Burken, and Pedro J. Alvarez, May 1, 2009, Environmental Science & Technology
What is biodiesel?
Portland City Code 16.60.010 defines biodiesel as ”a renewable alternative to diesel fuel that consists of mono-alkyl esters of long chain fatty acids derived from plant or animal matter that meets the registration requirements for fuels and fuel additives established by the Environmental Protection Agency and standards established by the American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM).”
What is renewable diesel?
Portland City Code 16.60.010 defines renewable disesel as “a renewable alternative to diesel fuel that is produced through various thermochemical processes such as hydrotreating, gasification, and pyrolysis and is derived from plant or animal matter. Renewable diesel is chemically the same as petroleum diesel fuel. Renewable diesel meets the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) specification ASTM D975 for petroleum diesel may be used in existing petroleum pipelines, storage tanks, and diesel engines.”
“Renewable” NAPHTHA
Coming soon!