May 16, 2022

This paid piece is sponsored by POET.

President Joe Biden recently visited POET Bioprocessing in Menlo, Iowa, where he announced that his administration will take emergency action to lift arcane restrictions on sales of E15, a fuel blended with 15 percent bioethanol, this summer.

The action by the Biden administration ensures that Americans will continue to have access to cleaner, more affordable E15 during the busiest driving season of the year. It also helps increase our nation’s energy independence amid continued upheaval in global fuel markets.

“Over 97 percent of the cars on the road today can utilize E15 to save money at the pump,” said Joshua Shields, POET senior vice president of government affairs and communications. “With gas prices at record highs, now more than ever, Americans need access to affordable, homegrown bioethanol.”

Bioethanol already makes up 10 percent of the U.S. fuel supply. The outdated ban on summertime sales of E15 was lifted in 2019. Unfortunately, that EPA rule was overturned in a July 2021 federal court decision that reimposed restrictions on E15 sales during the summer driving season.

“More retailers want to offer E15, but they need certainty that they’re not going to have to put a bag over the pump from June to September,” Shields said. “The president’s announcement is a temporary but encouraging step toward a permanent fix for year-round E15.”

Over the past few years, consumers saved roughly 10 cents per gallon by choosing E15 instead of E10. Since Russia’s war on Ukraine began, the price spread between E15 and ethanol-free regular gasoline has grown remarkably — as much as 50 to 70 cents per gallon in some places. As an example, a typical full-size pickup has a tank size of 26 gallons. Choosing E15 over bioethanol-free regular would equate to a savings potential of $13 to $18 per tank.

Expanding access to lower-cost, lower-carbon biofuels such as E15 also reduces our dependence on foreign oil. At today’s blending levels, bioethanol displaces more than 700 million barrels of imported oil annually, significantly reducing our dependence on foreign energy sources. Biofuels also diversify and expand our domestic fuel supply, which helps to protect the U.S. against volatility in global energy markets.

“The events in Ukraine are having real impacts on global markets,” said Doug Berven, POET vice president of corporate affairs. “Russia and Ukraine are large players in energy and agriculture, and Americans are feeling the impacts of sanctions and supply constraints at the pump and on store shelves. Bioproducts derived from agriculture are a solution for both domestic energy and food security, and it’s well beyond time we maximize their full potential.”

Americans already have driven more than 25 billion miles on E15. Moving the nation’s fuel standard from E10 to E15 would offset 6.2 billion gallons of gasoline, cut greenhouse gas emissions by 17.62 million tons per year, and drive an additional $17.8 billion of value-added output across the U.S. economy.

Increased bioethanol production also leads to increased production of dried distillers grains with solubles, a highly nutritious feed for livestock, which helps supplement America’s food supply chain. DDGS are most cost-effective for farmers and are shipped across the U.S. and around the globe to dairy, beef, swine and poultry producers.

Most importantly, bioethanol and bioproducts such as DDGS are ag-based solutions to global challenges that are made by Americans, for Americans, right here in the Heartland.

“Bioethanol reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 46 percent compared to regular gasoline. It’s an affordable, available, American-made fix for high gas prices and carbon emissions,” Berven said. “Plus the biofuels industry provides an essential market for U.S. grain and supports good-paying, green jobs in rural America. As we face challenges like inflation, energy security and the climate crisis, biofuels really are a win-win-win.”

Sioux Falls locations that sell E15 include Casey’s General Stores, Circle K, Get-n-Go, Kings Mart, Kum & Go and Pump ‘N Pak.

To find E15 for your next road trip visit getbiofuel.com/fuelfinder.