Stephanie Kelly and Jarrett Renshaw (Reuters) A U.S. government funding bill released on Tuesday included a plan that would allow year-round sales of gasoline with a higher ethanol blend, a major win for the corn and ethanol lobbies.
The inclusion would mark a hard-fought victory for the ethanol industry, which has wanted year-round E15 sales as a way to boost demand for its products.
Reuters reported earlier on Tuesday that the plan was expected to make it into the bill.
The plan would also provide credits to some refiners that prove compliance with the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), which mandates that refiners blend billions of gallons of biofuels into the nation's fuel mix or buy credits from those that do, the sources said.
Those credits would be given to small refiners who had petitioned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which administers the RFS, for an exemption from the mandates during compliance years 2016-2018 but either had been denied or had an outstanding petition as of Dec. 1, 2022, one of the sources said.
The language in the provision follows a bill sponsored by U.S. Senator Deb Fischer from Nebraska, the third biggest corn-producing state.
"My bill puts an end to years of patchwork regulations and uncertainty - year-round, nationwide E15 will now be a reality," Fischer said in a statement after the funding bill text was released.
The biofuels industry welcomed the provision.
"We are very pleased to see that the long-awaited fix allowing year-round E15 is included in this package," said Geoff Cooper, president of the Renewable Fuels Association. "We remain hopeful that the continuing resolution will move swiftly through Congress and to the President’s desk for signature."
The plan also includes language that the EPA and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission would review all applicable fuel blending credits, known as RINs, and submit to Congress a report to reduce manipulation of the renewable fuel market.
Currently, sales of E15 are effectively blocked from June to September. Adding ethanol to gasoline is known to increase smog pollution in hot weather, but research has shown little difference between E15 and the more-widely available E10 blends. READ MORE
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Excerpt from Argus Media: The 1,547-page bill, which is set for a vote in the coming days, is needed to avoid a government shutdown that would otherwise begin on Saturday. The bill would fund the government through 14 March and extend key expiring programs, such as agricultural support from the farm bill. It would also provide billions of dollars in disaster relief and pay the full cost of rebuilding the Francis Scott Key bridge in Maryland, which collapsed earlier this year after being hit by a containership.
The inclusion of the E15 language, based on a bill by US senator Deb Fischer (R-Nebraska), marks a major win for ethanol producers and farm state lawmakers who have spent years lobbying to permanently allow year-round E15 sales. The bill would also provide short-term relief to some small refiners under the Renewable Fuel Standard that retired renewable identification numbers (RINs) in 2016-18 in cases when their requests for "hardship" waivers remained pending for years. The bill would return some of those RINs to the small refiners and make them eligible for compliance in future years.
E15 was historically unavailable year-round because of language in the Clean Air Act that imposes more stringent fuel volatility requirements during summer months. In president-elect Donald Trump's first term, regulators began to allow year-round E15 sales by extending a waiver available for 10pc ethanol gasoline (E10), but a federal court in 2021 struck that down. Federal regulators have issued emergency waivers retaining year-round E15 sales over the last three summers.
Enacting the stopgap funding bill would also make it unnecessary for eight states to follow through with a costly gasoline blendstock reformulation — set to begin as early as next summer — they had requested as a way to retain year-round E15 sales in the midcontinent. Oil industry groups last month petitioned EPA to delay the fuel reformulation until after the 2025 summer driving season, citing concerns about inadequate fuel supply and the prospects that a legislative fix would make required infrastructure changes unnecessary.
Ethanol groups say the E15 legislative change could pave the way for retailers to more widely offer the high-ethanol fuel blend, which is currently available at 3,400 retail stations and last summer was about 10-30¢/USG cheaper than 10pc ethanol gasoline (E10). Offering the fuel year-round would be "an early Christmas present to American drivers," ethanol industry group Growth Energy chief executive Emily Skor said. READ MORE
Excerpt from Ethanol Producer Magazine: The Renewable Fuels Association has applauded the E15 provisions of the bill. “We are very pleased to see that the long-awaited fix allowing year-round E15 is included in this package,” said Geoff Cooper, president and CEO of the RFA. “This language would finally remove an outdated, red-tape regulatory barrier, and we remain hopeful that the continuing resolution will move swiftly through Congress and to the president’s desk for signature. Allowing year-round sales of E15 will benefit farmers, fuel retailers, and—most importantly—consumers seeking lower-cost, cleaner fuel options at the pump.”
“RFA thanks House leadership, the Energy and Commerce Committee leadership, and dozens of House members on both sides of the aisle who staunchly advocated for the inclusion of this long-overdue provision allowing year-round E15 nationwide,” Cooper continued. “We also thank the many bipartisan ethanol supporters in the Senate who have worked tirelessly on this issue over the past several years, and we look forward to them quickly taking up and passing the CR.”
Growth Energy is also speaking out in support of the legislation’s E15 provisions. "E15 lowers emissions, saves drivers money, and increases American energy dominance,” said Emily Skor, CEO of Growth Energy. “Giving consumers the chance to choose this fuel year-round would be an early Christmas present to American drivers, the nation's rural communities that depend on a strong renewable fuels sector, and to the environment.”
“We are grateful for the tireless work of our numerous Congressional champions to get this bill included, and that Congressional leadership has endorsed this commonsense, bipartisan, bicameral energy solution, and encourage Senators and Representatives to vote in favor of this package so that year-round E15 becomes the law of the land,” Skor continued.
While the short-term spending bill may finally allow nationwide year-round sales of E15, use of E15 fuel is not new. The fuel blend has been available for use in many non-flex fuel vehicles for more than a decade. The EPA first granted a partial waiver allowing E15 to be used in model year (MY) 2007 and newer light-duty vehicles in 2010. The agency expanded that waiver to include MY 2001 and newer vehicles the following year. The fuel blend, however, could not be sold in most markets during the summer driving season, from June 1 through Sept. 15. A June 2019 rulemaking changed that, extending the 1-psi RVP waiver to E15 and allowing the fuel to be sold during the summer driving season. The EPA’s rule was challenged by oil groups and in June 2021 the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the portion of the June 2019 related to E15, overturning the ability of most fuel retailers to sell E15 during the summer driving season. Despite the vacated rule, E15 continued to remain available during the summer 2022, 2023 and 2024 driving seasons via emergency waivers issued by the EPA.
In the absence of permanent national action on E15 availability, a coalition of Midwest governors in April 2022 petitioned the EPA to allow E15 to be sold year-round in their respective states. Following a lengthy rulemaking process, the agency in February 2024 finalized regulations that will allow E15 to be sold year-round in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin beginning in 2025.
California is currently the only state that does not allow E15 to be sold for use in non-flex fuel vehicles, but that could soon change. State agencies in 2018 kicked off the required review process to approve the use of the fuel blend. That process typically takes two to five years to complete but has faced delays. California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Oct. 25 issued a directive to the California Air Resources Board to accelerate efforts to approve E15 sales within the state to help lower gas prices without compromising environmental protections.
In addition to E15, the short-term spending package also includes a one-year extension of the current Farm Bill. READ MORE
Excerpt from Renewable Fuels Association: At an average price of $2.62 per gallon nationwide, E15 is currently selling at an 8.7% discount to E10, saving drivers an average of 26 cents with each gallon. READ MORE
Excerpt from Bloomberg: Environmental restrictions now preclude sales of the fuel containing 15% ethanol during the summer across much of the country. Without a nationwide law, refiners will face the costly problem of dealing with a two-tiered fuel system after eight Midwestern corn states were approved by federal regulators for year-round E15 sales last February.
“My bill puts an end to years of patchwork regulations and uncertainty,” said Senator Deb Fischer, a Nebraska Republican whose measure is part of the proposed funding legislation. “Not only will my bill lower gas prices and give consumers more choices, but it will also create new opportunity for American producers, who are especially hurting right now from lower prices.”
While E15 sales in the US have been steadily rising, ethanol supporters say year-round approval is crucial to future demand. Republican Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa, the country’s largest corn producer, said in an interview that the switch to allow year-round sales nationwide could benefit the state by hundreds of millions of dollars.
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The American Petroleum Institute — the powerful oil lobby — united this year with farm groups to support Fischer’s E15 bill, which also preserves access to lower-ethanol blends, such as the conventional 10% variety widely available across the US.
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Most of the gasoline sold in the US contains 10% ethanol, while selling higher E15 through the summer months has been generally off limits without a waiver from the Environmental Protection Agency.
The US government began to encourage the use of ethanol in the late 1970s following the oil crisis. After the 2001 terrorist attacks intensified energy security concerns, Congress established a mandate compelling ethanol and other biofuels to be mixed into the national fuel supply each year.
That set off a debate, with oil producers arguing that blending brings higher refining costs and increased prices at the gas pump. It also has spurred clashes over pollution. A federal clean air law blocks E15 sales in most of the US from June through mid-September, when summer heat boosts evaporation.
The biofuels industry has argued the summertime ban is based on flawed data, and higher gasoline-ethanol mixes are critically needed to help lower climate-harming greenhouse gases.
“E15 lowers emissions, saves drivers money, and increases American energy dominance,” said Emily Skor, CEO of ethanol lobbying group Growth Energy. “Giving consumers the chance to choose this fuel year-round would be an early Christmas present to American drivers.” READ MORE
Excerpt from DTN Progressive Farmer: In addition, the continuing resolution includes relief for small refiners from their renewable identification numbers, or RINs, obligations in the Renewable Fuel Standard for 2018. That relief is for a handful of refiners that did not qualify for small-refinery exemptions. READ MORE
Excerpt from Energy.AgWired.com: The measure also includes a provision for certain small refineries that submitted petitions for small refinery exemptions in 2016, 2017, and 2018 that would allow them to have their credits returned and would be eligible for future compliance years, similar to wording in the Nationwide Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act proposed in Congress. That bill was sponsored in the Senate by Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NE).
“This will once and for all solidify President Trump’s pledge to allow the sale of year-round E15—giving America’s producers and consumers the certainty they deserve,” said Fischer. “This will put an end to years of patchwork regulations and finally make nationwide year-round E15 a reality.” READ MORE
Excerpt from Washington Post: Republicans scrapped House Speaker Mike Johnson’s bipartisan plan to avert a government shutdown, as President-elect Donald Trump and Elon Musk joined a broad swath of the House GOP on Wednesday to condemn a compromise bill full of Democratic policy priorities.
The rebuke, which built steadily through the day and culminated with a long written statement from Trump in the late afternoon, has forced Johnson back to the drawing board on a plan to prevent a Christmastime shutdown — and maintain the support of his chaotic conference to be reelected as speaker early next year.
“Your elected representatives have heard you and now the terrible bill is dead,” Musk boasted on X, the social media site he owns, after he spent the day blasting the legislation. “The voice of the people has triumphed!”
Johnson has not outlined a backup plan, and multiple people familiar with the real-time conversations said the next step remains unclear, as leaders would need significant support from both parties — and Trump — to pass a funding extension. If Congress doesn’t extend the deadline, most federal operations would shut down at 12:01 a.m. Saturday, though the effects of a shutdown wouldn’t fully kick in until Monday. READ MORE
Excerpt from Washington Post: Hours into Musk’s campaign, Trump ordered Republicans to “GET SMART and TOUGH” or force a shutdown by walking away from a deal that the GOP’s top congressional official negotiated. The president-elect called for a CR that preserves certain items that Johnson supports — such as aid for farmers and disaster relief spending — but strips out Democratic priorities and pairs it with a suspension of the debt limit, which caps the amount the federal government can borrow to pay its bills. The current suspension is set to expire early in Trump’s term next year, under a bipartisan 2023 deal.
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Schumer (Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-New York)) told Democrats, “We have a deal with Republicans and we’re sticking with it,” according to a person familiar with the Senate leader’s message, speaking on the condition of anonymity to describe private discussions.
“House Republicans have now unilaterally decided to break a bipartisan agreement that they made. House Republicans have been ordered to shut down the government and hurt everyday Americans all across this country,” Jeffries (House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York 8th)) told reporters Wednesday night. “House Republicans will now own any harm that is visited upon the American people that results from a government shutdown, or worse; an agreement is an agreement.” READ MORE
Excerpt from DTN Progressive Farmer: House Agriculture Committee Republicans on X posted, "America's farmers aren't a political football -- they're the backbone of our nation. They feed, clothe, and fuel us every day."
House Agriculture Committee Democrats on X also posted, "President-elect Trump delivers on his promise to fight for rural America by undermining a CR that extends the farm bill and provides tens of billions of dollars to farmers struggling to stay afloat."
Without some of the provisions negotiated by Democrats, they are unlikely to back the bill. Johnson could not afford to lose any Republicans on a bill if Democrats balked at the unilateral changes.
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While people clamored on social media, farm groups keep telling their members to back the bill. The National Corn Growers Association and American Soybean Association cited their support for the bill. The American Farm Bureau Federation stated that its members had sent nearly 13,000 messages to lawmakers, calling on them to pass a CR with economic aid to farmers.
"Congress must pass this CR to deliver assistance to America's farmers and ranchers at a time when they need it most," said Zippy Duvall, president of AFBF. "We are respectfully asking you to vote YEA on this CR to provide that assistance and pave the way for a new five-year farm bill that will have enhanced commodity and risk management programs to help farmers mitigate their risk in the future."
Brian Kuehl, director of government affairs for Pinion Global, said the package provides needed relief and disaster aid for farmers and includes a farm-bill extension, which is also needed. The CR was "pleasantly surprising" to see the support for agriculture in the bill.
"It just seems crazy. Here's a package that's really good for farmers," Kuehl said. "And to see the whole thing put into jeopardy by a tweet is just absurd." READ MORE
Excerpt from E&E News: “We should pass a streamlined spending bill that doesn’t give [Senate Majority Leader] Chuck Schumer [D-N.Y.] and the Democrats everything they want,” Trump and Vance said in a joint statement late Wednesday afternoon. READ MORE
Excerpt from Politico: Musk didn’t seem to think a government shutdown would have significant consequences for the country. He responded “YES” to a post that read, “Just close down the govt until January 20th. Defund everything. We will be fine for 33 days.” Another Musk post said a shutdown “doesn’t actually shut down critical functions.”
But while essential functions would continue during a shutdown, there are significant real-world effects: Other government employees will halt their day-to-day work and miss paychecks. While Social Security checks will go out and mail will be delivered, agency shutdowns cause massive lost productivity. A five-week shutdown from 2018 to 2019 caused the economy to lose about $3 billion, according to estimates from the Congressional Budget Office. READ MORE
Excerpt from Associated Press: A one-year extension of federal farm programs, around $30 billion in economic relief and an agreement that would increase sales of a higher blend of ethanol, called E15, were part of a bipartisan deal that collapsed Wednesday after President-elect Donald Trump and his allies denounced the overall package. But even as he rejected that deal, Trump signaled that he was at least aware of concerns in farm country, which voted heavily for him in the election.
A new House Republican version announced Thursday kept the one-year Farm Bill extension and the economic aid but dropped the ethanol provision.
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“Pulling E15 out of the bill makes absolutely no sense and is an insult to America’s farmers and renewable fuel producers,” Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Geoff Cooper said in a statement. “It’s a kick in the teeth to rural America, and we are urging members to vote ‘no’ on any package that doesn’t include this simple E15 fix.”
While the first Trump administration backed year-round sales, opposition by the oil industry, and concerns that the fuel could worsen smog during warm weather, made summertime E15 sales dependent on annual waivers during the Biden administration. The Environmental Protection Agency in February approved year-round E15 only for eight Midwestern states starting next year. That uncertainty has dissuaded many gas stations from carrying the fuel. The industry hopes year-round sales nationwide will increase its availability and support demand for corn. READ MORE
Excerpt from Politico Pro E&E Daily: In their scramble to appease Trump by rewriting a bill to prevent a partial government shutdown Friday, Republicans removed a provision to lift seasonal restrictions on 15 percent ethanol fuel. The bill failed, opening the possibility the ethanol provision could resurface in another revision.
Biofuel isn’t at the heart of the fight, but the E15 provision raised objections from some conservative lawmakers and became one of many casualties as Trump called on Republicans to rewrite the measure. The ethanol industry was left reeling.
Growth Energy, an ethanol trade group, likened the bill without E15 to a lump of coal for farmers for Christmas. READ MORE
Excerpt from Energy.AgWired.com: But the fuel remains highly popular among voters, according to a recent survey.
Recent nationwide polling conducted by Morning Consult for the Renewable Fuels Association shows that 69 percent of registered voters support increasing the availability of E15 (gasoline with 15 percent ethanol) to help lower fuel prices and support energy independence. Looking only at voters who expressed an opinion, more than four out of five (83 percent) support expanded access to E15.
Voters were specifically asked if they would support legislation to permanently allow E15 to be sold year-round and nationwide, like the language included in the continuing resolution bill released Tuesday by House leadership. Of those respondents with an opinion, 81 percent support adoption of the legislation.
The E15 provision was pulled from the re-crafted CR announced Thursday afternoon. READ MORE
Guest Opinion by Rocco J. Lacertosa & Kris DeLair (New York State Energy Coalition Inc. / Empire State Energy Association Inc./Syracuse.com) There are many aspects of the scope and scale of New York’s energy system that boggle the mind. Uncertainty about where the electricity we need in the years ahead will come from shouldn’t be one of them.
However, as Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard reports, that’s our current reality (“There’s a mind-boggling gap in NY’s plan for a clean electric grid. ‘We are so far behind,’ ” Nov. 19, 2024). Despite the state’s best efforts to bolster renewable energy production, Cornell research has found that the state is behind in developing “dispatchable emissions-free resources.” It’s an assessment bolstered by the New York Independent System Operator, which once again raised red flags about “growing risks” to electric system reliability statewide.
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The state must not ignore the promise of biofuels to help reduce emissions in the transportation and building sectors — sectors that will drive electric demand in the decades to come. Made from resources like cooking grease, rendered animal fat and soybean byproducts, they can be utilized with existing infrastructure to deliver emissions benefits that shouldn’t be ignored in this moment.
Biodiesel’s lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions are estimated to be up to 88% lower than those of petroleum diesel. For renewable diesel, emissions are estimated to be up to 68% lower than those of petroleum diesel.
To be sure, this isn’t a novel idea.
New York state already mandates bioheat blends for home heating fuel, with Gov. Kathy Hochul praising the deployment of biodiesel as “one of the many steps” the state must take to meet its climate targets, and that bioheat blends significantly reduce emissions, “resulting in immediate air quality and public health benefits.”
Meanwhile, New York City just transitioned its entire heavy-duty vehicle fleet to renewable diesel in an effort to avoid 162 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions annually. Erie County is following a similar path, and last April, County Executive Mark Poloncarz told the Buffalo News, “I think in the long run, you’re going to see all renewable diesel because it just makes more sense when you’re talking about carbon emissions and reducing your carbon footprint.”
Even if the state generated the megawatts to meet long-term electric demand, there is still a long way to go in building out the infrastructure for both businesses and everyday people to start making the transition.
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As the nagging gap between electrified heating and transportation goals and all-electric adoption remains, the state needs to do more to support viable options for reducing emissions now. It is not a solution to simply wait for more megawatts to be available, for costs of vehicles and infrastructure to drop, and for advancements to mitigate the challenges of difficult-to-electrify sectors.
As the governor and lawmakers prepare their 2025 energy agenda, they should heed Hochul’s own words delivered here in Syracuse just a few months ago and focus on a true “all-of-the-above” energy approach.
Increasing bioheat blend requirements, for example, would be a cost-effective option for consumers who may not yet be able to afford to switch to all-electric heating options. Similarly, a properly designed low-carbon fuel standard could help drive some electrification, while also delivering emissions reductions by promoting greater use of biofuels.
Meanwhile, state regulators should be mindful of how they implement the state’s fledgling cap-and-invest program, through which they’ve proposed treating biofuels the same as traditional fossil fuels. That would only serve to dampen their usage just as the state can ill afford it. READ MORE