As gas prices have jumped 14% in a week since the start of Operation Epic Fury, the Renewable Fuels Association is urging the Trump administration to take immediate action allowing broader use of lower-cost, American-made ethanol in the U.S. fuel supply to help ease the impacts of higher crude oil and gasoline prices.
The White House has asked the Departments of Energy, Transportation and Treasury and the Environmental Protection Agency to come up with options, and RFA provided input in a letter to Interior Sec. Doug Burgum, who chairs the administration’s National Energy Dominance Council.
“Adding larger volumes of low-cost ethanol to gasoline is a proven solution for reducing fuel prices and helping to insulate the U.S. market from global supply shocks,” wrote RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper. “A series of simple deregulatory actions could rapidly unleash billions of gallons of additional fuel volume, providing relief at the pump for hardworking American families.”
Ethanol is selling at a significant discount to gasoline, Cooper noted. On March 6, ethanol was selling for $0.84 per gallon less than gasoline at the wholesale level—a discount of 31 percent. In recent days, E15 has been selling for $0.27 per gallon less than standard E10 gasoline.
RFA urged the following actions, among others:
As soon as possible, EPA should issue emergency summertime fuel waivers allowing a 1-psi Reid vapor pressure (RVP) volatility tolerance for E15 nationwide, as well as E10 in certain areas that previously opted out of the 1-psi RVP waiver program.
EPA should immediately eliminate all E15 Misfueling Mitigation Plan requirements and adopt a simple requirement that retail gasoline stations offering E15 for sale must also continue to make E0 or E10 available in at least one clearly marked dispenser at the station.
Establish a presumption of E15 compatibility for all fuel dispensers, underground storage tank (UST) systems (including piping and all other underground components), and “hanging hardware” (e.g., hoses and nozzles) installed after 2005.
“The most effective way to prevent additional increases in gas prices across the U.S. is by expanding and diversifying the domestic fuel supply, including ethanol made from our nation’s farm fields,” Cooper concluded. “Knocking down regulatory barriers and allowing E15 to be stored and distributed in existing infrastructure throughout the summer will lower fuel costs for Americans and strengthen the market’s resilience against global supply disruptions.”