The Iowa Renewable Fuels Infrastructure Program (RFIP) has approved 74 project applications totaling more than $3.4 million in cost-share funding for Iowa fuel retailers for the first quarter to fund a record 73 ethanol cost-share projects to increase availability of E15 across the state. The board also approved one application for a new biodiesel terminal project. Once completed, these projects …
Nebraska Retailers Urged to Apply for HBIIP Grants
Nebraska is one of 22 states that recently received a portion of $19 million awarded recently by USDA under the Higher Blend Infrastructure Incentive Program (HBIIP) with 16 retail locations receiving grants. The Nebraska Ethanol Board is urging retailers across the state to take advantage of the program during the current signup period. Launched in July 2023 with a $450 …
Montana Becomes 49th State to Approve E15
As of January 1, Montana became the 49th state to allow retail sales of E15, with California now remaining as the only state to prevent the sale of 15% ethanol-blended fuel. The Montana Department of Labor & Industry last year approved updated state regulations based on the most recent National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) handbook which went into …
Governors’ E15 Waiver Request Moves Forward
After months of delay, some action was finally taken this week on the request from eight states to allow year-round sales of E15. On Monday, EPA’s proposed rule was sent to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for final review, which is the last step in the process before the rule is finalized and published. Renewable Fuels …
Most 2024 Vehicles Approved for E15
More new vehicles than ever are specifically approved by manufacturers to run on 15 percent ethanol blended fuel (E15). The Renewable Fuels Association just released its annual review of vehicle owner’s manuals and warranty statements and found that E15 is explicitly approved by the manufacturer for use in approximately 95 percent of model year 2024 cars and light trucks. “RFA …
Lawmakers Demand Action on E15 Waiver Request
A bipartisan, bicameral group of 22 lawmakers sent a follow up letter to the White House this week seeking swift action on regulations that would allow year-round sales of 15% ethanol blended fuel (E15) in eight Midwest states, as requested in April 2022 by the states’ governors. Congressman Brad Finstad (R-MN), Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski (D-IL), Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA), and …
Iowa and Nebraska Push EPA for Final E15 Rule
The attorney generals of Nebraska and Iowa this week filed a motion for summary to force the Environmental Protection Agency to finalize a rule allowing eight Midwest states to sell E15 year-round. The motion says EPA’s lack of action on the waiver request filed by the states in April 2022 causes harm to the “public interest…public health…(and) also creates economic …
Report Claims White House is Stalling Summer E15
A Reuters story out the day after Thanksgiving cites anonymous sources claiming the Biden administration is stalling any action on a petition from Midwestern governors to allow year round sales of E15 beginning in summer 2024. According to the Reuters report, “The two sources familiar with the administration’s thinking, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the White House decided to …
RFA Finds E15 Sales Grow but Still Restricted
A new analysis from the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) finds sales of E15 (15% ethanol fuel) surged over the past three months compared to the same period last year, but warns that growth is at risk unless the government takes action to allow sales of the blend again next summer. RFA examined data from the Minnesota Department of Commerce, which …
ACE Renews Call for E15 Certainty
As the sun sets on the summer driving season, the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) is renewing its call to the administration to make this the last year of uncertainty for the nation’s fuel retailers offering E15 (15% ethanol) by finalizing the regulation to eliminate the 1-pound per square inch (psi) Reid vapor pressure (RVP) waiver in eight states. As …