US biofuel group praises passage of bill allowing year-round E15 use

A US biofuel group has welcomed the passage by the House of Representatives of a bill that will allow E15 gasoline - gasoline that uses a 15 percent ethanol blend - to be sold all year round in a move that seems to permanently end attempts at reimposing a seasonal summer break on the sale of the grade.

The bill will also fund additional infrastructure to support the sale of higher blend biofuels.

The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) welcomed the passing of the Lower Food and Fuel Costs Act that will extend a waiver allowing the sale of the E15 blend during the summer months, and also the inclusion of $200 million in additional funding for higher blends infrastructure.

“By expanding the availability of cleaner, more-affordable ethanol blends, this legislation will help deliver immediate economic relief to American families who are feeling unprecedented pain at the pump,” RFA President and CEO, Geoff Cooper, said in a press release.

Extending the Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) waiver that currently applies to E10 during the summer months to E15 is expected to boost ethanol demand.

On April 29, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued an emergency waiver allowing the sale of E15 gasoline during the summer driving season this year.

Cooper said that the use of E15 is approved for use in more than 97 percent of cars and trucks on the road today, and added that “investment in updated dispensers, tanks, pumps, and components that carry E15 and higher blends” will bring benefit to more consumers.