The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Monday it will allow uninterrupted sales of the E-15 blend of gasoline this summer.
National Renewable Fuels Association CEO Geoff Cooper says the approval follows through on a promise that President Trump made. “We were sort of expecting to hear something from EPA on the ability to sell E-15 this summer and very happy to see this announcement,” he says. Iowa lawmakers and the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association are applauding the move as well.
Cooper says allowing the gas with a 15% ethanol blend will help states like Iowa. “Will likely boost ethanol demand by several 100 million gallons this year. And then obviously that’s good news for farmers who are selling their corn to ethanol facilities,” he says. “It really helps keep a market open and keeps that market growing for our friends and agriculture,” Cooper says.
Cooper says E-15 can cost between 15 and 20 cents less than other fuel blends, and more people now have that option.”Once they try it that first time, we see very strong response and repeat customers coming back to fill up again. For a typical family that chooses E-15 instead of E-10, they’re saving 200 to 250 dollars a year at the pump in purchasing that lower cost fuel. And that’s obviously significant,” he says.
The summer E-15 sales are only for this year and Cooper says they are still working to make the change permanent. “We’ve always known that this legislation is not going to move by itself. It’s not going to be a stand alone piece of legislation. It needs to hitch a ride on some bigger piece of legislation that’s moving,” Cooper says. “And unfortunately, there just haven’t been many opportunities to hitch a ride on a, on a must pass piece of legislation. So we’re looking for. Some of those opportunities coming up, you know this summer and certainly in the fall, we think there will be some opportunities as well.”
Iowa’s congressional delegation along with the governor and Iowa Ag Secretary have all pushed for allowing E-15 to be permanently sold year-round. The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association says the state is the nation’s leader in renewable fuels production with 42 ethanol refineries.