E15
At White House meeting, biofuels bloc promotes E15 as RFS solution
President Trump sat down with oil and ethanol leaders for the second time this week without resolving a battle over the federal mandate to mix biofuels into gasoline and diesel fuel. Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley later said that “an emerging solution appears to be year-round E15.”
Perdue says he stands with the RFS; Grassley says some schooling is needed
A farm convention audience cheered Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue as he declared his unequivocal support for biofuels. His speech came just a day after he participated in a White House discussion of possible revisions to the Renewable Fuel Standard.
Pruitt says year-round E15 hinges on authority, not policy
Last fall, the EPA said it would investigate whether it has the authority to allow year-round sales of E15, a higher blend of ethanol and gasoline than the traditional 10 percent ratio. Administrator Scott Pruitt said there has been no decision yet, reported DTN/ProgressiveFarmer.
Ethanol groups take two routes in pursuit of E15 sales
In hopes of expanding sales of gasoline with a 15 percent biofuel blend, ethanol trade groups are putting pressure on the EPA as well as Congress, says DTN. Their immediate goal is approval by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee of a bill to waive a fuel volatility rule, which would allow the sale of E15 during the summer.
After ethanol kerfuffle, legislation for year-round E15
Bipartisan legislation was filed in the House and Senate to allow year-round sale of E15, a higher, 15 percent blend of ethanol into gasoline than the traditional 10 percent. At present, E15 cannot be sold during the summer, a factor in this week's fracture among ethanol trade groups.
Ethanol rumors swirl and die, as does corn market rally
The corn ethanol industry squabbled over a rumored White House overhaul of the Renewable Fuels Standard, which guarantees biofuels a share of the gasoline market and provides a market for more than a third of the U.S. corn crop. By the end of the day, however, the White House knocked down talk that it would allow year-round sales of a 15 percent blend of ethanol, a step up from the 10 percent blend that is now standard, and potentially a large expansion in ethanol sales.
Pre-blended E15 heads to gasoline retailers
In a step the ethanol industry called a game changer, HRWT Oil Co. said it will sell pre-blended E15 at four fuel terminals in the Midwest and Mid-South. Gasoline stations have been slow to offer E15 despite EPA approval, partly because of difficulties in acquiring and dispensing the fuel.
CHS will share the cost of E15 tanks for retailers
The farmer-owned cooperative CHS, Inc. said it will cover "a significant portion of the cost to purchase and install an additional storage tank for the purpose of offering E15" at the 1,400 gas stations operating under its Cenex brand name.