The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today issued the first in a series of waivers to allow sales of 15% ethanol blended gasoline, E15, to continue this summer. The first waiver begins on May 1, 2025, and lasts through May 20, 2025. By doing so, EPA will keep E15 on the market giving consumers more options across the nation. This …
Waiting on E15 Summer Waivers
For the past three years, EPA has announced in April that waivers would be issued to allow nationwide summertime sales of 15% ethanol fuel, or E15. Last year, the announcement was made April 19, and the previous two years it was April 28 and 29, but the Trump administration has yet to take that action for this summer. This week, …
California Receives LCFS Comments
This week was the final deadline to provide comments to the California Air Resources Board regarding proposed modifications to the state’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard. The Renewable Fuels Association filed comments on the proposal Monday. In its comments and an attached analysis, RFA said empirical data clearly undermine CARB’s rationale for including the new sustainability requirements for grain-based ethanol. CARB …
Unleaded 88 Saved Minnesotans $24 Million in 2024
Unleaded 88, or E15, saved Minnesota drivers over $24 million at the pump last year, with prices an average of 17 cents per gallon less than 87 octane, according to data from the Minnesota Department of Commerce. The Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association reports that the annual volume of Unleaded 88 sold in Minnesota last year hit a new record of 142.75 …
Iowa E15 Momentum Continues
The Iowa Renewable Fuels Infrastructure Program (RFIP) awarded almost $1 million in grants this week to add E15 to 94 Iowa retail fuel sites throughout the state. Momentum toward compliance with Iowa’s E15 Access Standard continues to build as these 94 grant follow the record 111 grants awarded just last month. To date, there have been a total of 297 …
Ethanol Report on E15 Optimism
U.S. sales of E15 reached a record 1.24 billion gallons in 2024, an increase of 11% over 2023, according to a Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) analysis of data released by state agencies in Minnesota and Iowa. While it appears the Trump administration will have to continue the practice of issuing waivers this summer to keep E15 at the pump, there …
Rollins Talks Ethanol With Fox News
Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins has taken a much more visible role in the new Trump Administration than previous agriculture secretaries, appearing three times this month already on Fox News, most recently this past Sunday. In a wide-ranging interview with Shannon Bream, Rollins talked about a number of issues, from tariffs and trade to the price of eggs, and spent …
Iowa Reports 45% Jump in E15 Sales, Record B20
Retail sales of E15 in Iowa jumped 45 percent last year compared to 2023, and a record number of biodiesel gallons were sold, according to the latest Iowa Department of Revenue 2024 Retailers Motor Fuel Gallons Annual Report. The report showed E15 sales hit a record 257 million gallons in the state last year with 516 million gallons of biodiesel …
E15 Waivers Requested for Summer Again
With no prospects for a legislative fix to allow E15 year-round nationwide before the summer driving season, senators are now asking President Trump to once again authorize waivers to keep the blend available this year. A bipartisan group of senators led by John Thune (R-SD) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) sent a letter to the president this week asking him to …
Ag Secretary Gets Earful About E15
Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins heard a lot about the ethanol industry’s need for year-round, nationwide E15 during her trip to Iowa yesterday, starting with her visit to the Elite Octane ethanol facility in Atlantic, Iowa. “We’re very bullish for the next three years with President Trump leading the way. The seeds of policy change to drive profitability for our …