President Joe Biden is traveling to Iowa today to announce his administration will issue a waiver to allow the widespread sale of E15, a blend of 15 percent ethanol mixed with gasoline, during the summer months.
“This is welcome news for Minnesota’s corn growers and drivers,” said Minnesota Farmers Union (MFU) President Gary Wertish. “Not only will this action lower prices at the pump, but also it will use more ethanol, a renewable fuel made locally in Minnesota. In addition, ethanol burns cleaner than pure gasoline.”
MFU supports expanding the use of biofuels, including moving toward statewide E15 to provide farmers with a value-added market for their farm products and to mitigate the effects of climate change.
The Environmental Protection Agency will issue an emergency waiver to allow the widespread sale of E15, which is usually prohibited between June 1 and Sept. 15. The move is expected to save drivers about 10 cents a gallon.
Today, ahead of President Joe Biden’s visit to an ethanol plant in Menlo, Iowa, the administration says the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is planning to issue a national, emergency waiver so E15 can continue to be sold this summer, which will help increase fuel supplies, give consumers more choice to get lower prices, and provide savings to many families. In conjunction, the announcement included updates on more biofuel infrastructure funding and distributions, as well as $700 million in biofuel aid to be awarded yet this month. American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) CEO Brian Jennings thanked President Biden for these actions in the following statement:
“President Biden’s announcement is great news for the ethanol industry, farmers, and most importantly, American consumers, who are under financial stress from rising energy prices and expenses. E15 is saving families between 10 and 30 cents per gallon, so this is a meaningful step toward reducing gas prices. We appreciate the President making it clear the farmers and biofuel producers who produce American-made ethanol are part of the solution to address pain at the pump.
“Given the long-term importance to ensuring uninterrupted availability of E15 year-round in all part of the country, we look forward to working with the administration and Congress on a permanent remedy to expand consumer access beyond the emergency measures being taken this summer.
“In addition, we thank President Biden for announcing funding support for biofuels infrastructure and stimulus aid for recovering producers. It’s been over two years since COVID-19 shut down the economy and caused a severe market disruption that rocked the ethanol industry and we’re appreciative the administration is delivering on the assistance for biofuel producers.
“As President Biden pledges his support for biofuels today, we also urge him to direct EPA to get the RFS back on track so ethanol can play an even bigger role in helping reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and be part of the solution to climate change.”