Cellulosic biofuel and retail fuel companies have joined the effort to urge the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee to pass legislation that would extend the Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) volatility waiver to gasoline blended with 15 percent ethanol (E15) and allow sales of higher blends year-round across the nation.

The Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act was introduced by Sens. Deb Fischer (R-NE), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), John Thune (R-SD), and Joni Ernst (R-IA) and 13 other bipartisan Senators in March. Novozymes, Protec Fuel, and Kwik Trip were among the companies that joined Growth Energy to urge passage of the bill.

“We see a legislative fix to RVP as the strongest signal to continue to spur business and jobs growth and put more money back in American pockets,” said Adam Monroe, President, Americas, Novozymes, a company with over a decade of experience developing enzyme technologies to convert agricultural waste into low-carbon cellulosic ethanol.

“There is no reason for the current RVP burden that blocks retailers, like us, from offering our customers less expensive, earth-friendlier fuel choices year-round,” said Steve Walk, COO of Protec Fuel.

“This long-overdue fix simply holds E15 to the same standard as conventional blends, which means more affordable options for our customers and fewer baseless restrictions on retailers,” said Joel Hirschboeck, General Manager of Fuel Procurement and Marketing of Kwik Trip.

He added that Kwik Trip plans to add E15 at more than 500 locations in Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin over the next few years.