E-15—the blend of 15 percent ethanol and 85 percent gasoline—has faced several roadblocks on its road to reality.
The latest was cleared last week when the EPA approved a final piece of the ethanol industry’s Misfueling Mitigation Plan.
However, it may still be a while before motorists see E-15 the pump. Monte Shaw with the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association says the oil industry has thrown up another marketplace hurdle.
“Due to a quirk in the federal fuel regulations, the gasoline that you blend to create E-10 during the summer is different than the gasoline that is required to make E-15 in the summer—and the oil industry is only sending the blend stock for E-10 up the pipeline,” Shaw says. “Without the proper blend stock, we cannot actually create an E-15 that meets the federal fuel regulations.”
Shaw says that where E-15 is being sold in Iowa today, for use in flexible fuel vehicles, it is anywhere from five to 10 cents a gallon cheaper than E-10, which is 10 to 13 cents cheaper than regular gasoline.
Radio Iowa contributed to this story.
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