A report published by the Department of Energy found that E15 prices in April were up to $0.47 per gallon less than standard E10 gasoline on average, an 11.5 percent discount. The DOE report, which is based on actual pricing data collected from the marketplace, also showed E15 costs 8 percent less at the pump on an energy basis—meaning drivers choosing E15 pay less per mile traveled than drivers choosing E10.

The Clean Cities and Communities Alternative Fuel Report is a quarterly publication that has been collecting and reporting alternative fuel prices since April 2000, and the report in July was the first time it included E15 prices. It shows that the average E15 price in April was $3.62 per gallon compared to an average E10 price of $4.09 per gallon. The data also show that regular gasoline prices jumped by $1.20 per gallon, or 42 percent, between January and April as global oil supply disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz caused retail prices to spike.

Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Geoff Cooper said the report further underscores the fact that expanded ethanol consumption, driven by the Renewable Fuel Standard and its RIN market mechanism, is leading to lower prices at the pump for American consumers.

“While a handful of stubborn oil refining companies continue to suggest that the RFS somehow leads to higher prices at the pump, this new data from DOE proves that the exact opposite is true,” said Cooper. “After the Trump administration finalized the highest-ever RFS volumes back in March, the marketplace responded by expanding the supply of lower-cost E15. As this report shows, American drivers who have access to E15 are saving real money with each fill-up, and those savings are being enabled by the RFS and RIN values. Undermining the RFS with small refinery exemptions, as is reportedly being considered, would reverse this progress and lead to higher prices at the pump. Granting massive SREs would do nothing at all to lower pump prices and, in fact, would have the opposite effect.”