WASHINGTON, DC, US — The Biden administration is expected to announce in March that it will allow year-round sales of gasoline with 15% ethanol (E15) in eight states, beginning in 2025, Reuters reported, citing several anonymous sources. The White House plans to grant a 2022 request from the governors of Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin to expand use of the higher ethanol blend, the sources told Reuters.

However, the decision drew a mixed reaction from biofuels industry representatives who described the long-awaited action as “a double-edged sword for consumers.” The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) said that while allowing year-round sales is a positive development, delaying implementation until 2025 creates uncertainty and confusion about the availability of E15 this summer.

“While we are pleased to see EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) has finally approved year-round E15 in these eight states, we are extremely disappointed by the agency’s needless decision to delay implementation until 2025,” said Geoff Cooper, chief executive officer of the RFA. “It’s helpful to finally have some certainty about 2025 and beyond, but what happens this summer? The Biden administration missed its statutory deadline to finalize the governors’ petition by more than 500 days, and now it claims there just isn’t enough time to implement the rule in time for summer 2024. Why should ethanol producers, farmers, fuel retailers, and consumers in these states be penalized for EPA’s foot-dragging and failure to meet a clear deadline? With the 2024 summer driving season just a few months away, we are urging the administration to take additional action that will ensure consumers have uninterrupted access to lower-cost, lower-carbon E15 this summer.”

Brian Jennings, chief executive officer of the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE), said the group would lobby vigorously to make E15 available this summer.

“The administration rightfully exercised its authority to grant emergency waivers in 2022 and 2023, and we will be pushing for a solution covering the summer of 2024 as well,” he said. “In addition, ACE continues to actively support bipartisan legislation in Congress, the Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act, to permanently enable all Americans to benefit from the cost savings and cleaner emissions of E15. This legislation will be one of our priority issues during our March 14-15 DC fly-in.”

The US government has restricted sales of E15 gasoline during the summer because of environmental concerns about air quality. Although it is considered “carbon neutral” and burns cleaner than 100% gasoline, several studies have shown that E15 creates more ground-level air pollution. This is because it evaporates more easily, and the evaporated particles react with sunlight to create smog.

Ethanol industry representatives have disputed this claim.

The states that petitioned for the year-round use of E15 are among the country’s largest producers of corn, the primary raw material used for ethanol production in the United States.

A report released on Feb. 22 by the US Energy Information Administration showed that ethanol stocks are at an 18-month high of 25.5 million barrels due to easing demand. Meanwhile, production averaged 1.084 million barrels per day, up 55,000 barrels compared to this time last year.