US Bill Would Allow Year-Round E15 Sales

An upcoming U.S. government funding bill is expected to include a plan that would allow year-round sales of gasoline with a higher ethanol blend, a major win for the corn and ethanol lobbies, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

This would be a victory for the Ethanol industry who has been fighting for year-round E15 to increase demand for their products.

Sources said that the plan also provides credits to refiners who can prove that they are in compliance with the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard. This standard requires refiners to blend billions gallons worth of biofuels or purchase credits from refiners who do.

One source said that the credits would go to refiners which had applied for exemptions from the RFS mandates in the compliance years of 2016-2018, but had either been denied, or still had an unresolved petition, as of December 1, 2022.

The provision is based on a bill sponsored in the U.S. The same source stated that Senator Deb Fischer of Nebraska is the third largest corn producing state.

Sales of E15 blends are currently effectively banned from June through September. In hot weather, adding ethanol to gasoline can increase smog. However, research shows that there is little difference between E15 blends and the more widely available E10 blends.

This provision will likely overturn a controversial February decision by the U.S. Government to approve a request made by Midwestern Governors to only allow E15 year-round sales in their state, beginning in 2025.

Some oil refiners argued that allowing E15 to be sold in certain states rather than nationwide could lead to localized fuel prices and supply problems.