News
Energy secretary reiterates support for E15 blend
Energy Secretary Steven Chu has reiterated his support for increasing the amount of ethanol in the fuel supply up to 15 percent. Speaking in Des Moines this week, Chu also urged automakers to make all new vehicles flex-fuel so they are able to run on even higher blends of ethanol.
Tom Buis, CEO of the ethanol advocacy group Growth Energy, applauds Chu’s support of the E15 blend proposal. Buis says the science overwhelmingly shows that mid-level blends of ethanol, like a 15 percent blend, have no adverse impact on a car’s performance, maintenance or emissions.
There has been some speculation that the EPA could settle on a 12 or 13 percent blend, rather than stepping all the way to 15 percent. But after meeting with EPA officials in Washington last week, the executive director of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association, Monte Shaw, says that’s not going to happen.
“We thought they might approve an E12 or E13 as an interim step while they were continuing to collect the data on E15,” says Shaw. “They made it very clear they are not doing that. The E12 and E13 are off the table-there won’t be any intermediate steps. They will simply wait until they have enough data and they will make a decision on E15.”
Shaw says EPA is required to announce a decision on E15 by December 1. “But that decision could be ‘no, not now-we still need to see more data that’s not going to come in until next summer’,” he says, “Obviously we need that relief now, so we’re hoping that they do see that the data they already have, or will have by December 1st, is more than enough to move forward.”
Add Comment