CI Score Units

Overview: USDA FD-CIC Units of Measure
The USDA recently released the updated USDA FD-CIC (USDA Feedstock Carbon Intensity Calculator). It is anticipated that this calculator will be used to determine feedstock CI reductions that can be claimed for the 45Z tax credit.

How does this tie to 45Z?
It is the intention of the USDA that the USDA FD-CIC be adopted by the US Department of Energy and integrated into the 45ZCF GREET as the official 45ZCF FD-CIC. The DoE is due to make this integration later in 2026.

What is the new Default score?
Corn default = 6,031g CO2e/bu
Soybean default = 7,678g CO2e/bu
Sorghum default = 6,444g CO2e/bu
Canola default = 15,538g CO2e/bu

What is the conversion tool?
Since 45Z is based on the biofuel units of measure, displayed in kg CO2e/mmBtu, a conversion must be made from the crop CI Score to the fuel CI Score. The industry average production efficiency is 2.9 gallons of ethanol produced per bushel. Therefore, the average, default corn CI Score when used for ethanol is 27.4kg CO2e/mmBtu. Your actual CI Score regarding its 45Z impact will be plant-specific.

Tell me more about these units?
With the most recent IRS guidelines, it is clear that the unit of measure for the 45Z tax credit is kg CO2E/mmBtu (kilograms of CO2 emission equivalents per 1 million British thermal units of energy). The GREET Feedstock calculator uses default units in terms of g GHG/MJ (grams of GreenHouse Gas Equivalents per megajoule of energy). To align with the IRS, we will run these conversions on your behalf and display them on TopSoil®.

What is the value of the 45Z tax credit?
The 45Z value is tied to the ethanol production. Transportation biofuel producers can earn up to $0.10/gallon (adjusted for inflation) for every 5-point CI reduction they achieve. Farmers participating in bulk could help a plant earn more than $0.40/gallon if they were very aggressive. Regardless, the value to the plant and the value to the farmers will be very plant-specific.