E15

Lower Carbon, Lower Price
Lower-Cost E15 Continues This Summer;
Let’s Make It Permanent
 

On April 19, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced it will use an emergency fuel waiver to help American families save money at the pump this summer. RFA thanks EPA and the White House for issuing the waiver and allowing uninterrupted nationwide sales of E15, gasoline containing 15 percent ethanol.

 

“Allowing E15 sales during the summer driving season will increase the fuel supply, while supporting American farmers, strengthening our nation’s energy security, and providing relief to drivers across the country.”

- EPA Administrator Michael Regan

 

The lower-cost, lower-carbon E15 blend is approved for use in more than 95 percent of vehicles on the road today. Drivers typically save at least 25 cents per gallon when filling up with E15.

 

Year-round E15 has been allowed every year under the Biden administration. EPA Administrator Michael Regan took similar emergency action in both 2022 and 2023, and EPA allowed retailers to continue selling E15 following an adverse court decision in an oil industry lawsuit in the summer of 2021. The 2024 waiver decision will also reduce summertime air pollution, as shown in an RFA E15 Fact Check. 

 

However, a permanent legislative solution allowing year-round E15 is still needed. For the environmental and economic benefits of E15 to be fully realized, the marketplace needs long-term certainty, and it is time for Congress to pass legislation—like the Nationwide Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act—that would deliver permanent year-round access for E15 and finally break the cycle of ad hoc, stop-gap emergency waivers.

 

This new emergency waiver follows a months-long concerted effort by RFA and its allies.

 

  • In late March, RFA and allies sent a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency, calling on Administrator Michael Regan to act swiftly on an emergency waiver for E15 sales.
  • In March and April, RFA ran advertising in the Washington, D.C., media market expressing the importance of continued access to E15 this summer.
  • In an RFA blog post on April 2, Chief Economist Scott Richman estimated that U.S. sales of the E15 fuel blend hit a record 1.11 billion gallons in 2023.
  • The next day, nearly 1,000 farmers, ethanol industry workers and other supporters from across the country sent a letter to President Biden also urging immediate action on E15.
  • Finally, last week, 46 members of the House and Senate separately sent letters to President Biden urging his administration to allow the lower-cost E15 fuel blend to be sold through the summer months.

 

In February, EPA granted a petition from eight Midwest governors to allow year-round sales of E15 in their states. However, that regulation does not go into effect until 2025.

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