Does Minnesota Have What It Takes to Seize Biofuel Opportunities?

by Timothy J. Rudnick (Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association) Seldom do the puzzle pieces align so perfectly as they now have to give Minnesota motorists greater access to E15 and higher blends of Minnesota grown, renewable ethanol.

Some of those puzzle pieces include State and Federal funds for fuel storage and dispensing infrastructure, greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction tools, economic development and consumer savings.

The puzzle picture, however, is only complete when the aligned pieces are put together.

One part of the storage and dispensing infrastructure puzzle involves pre-blended E15. This is a valuable product for the growing number of fuel retailers who are unable to install a blender pump yet desire to offer their customers E15 (marketed by some and better known to consumers as “88 Octane” or “unleaded plus”). The good news: this part of the puzzle is now in place and more pieces of the fuel supply chain can be added.

This brings us to the next piece of the puzzle - fuel retailers. While we have seen a growing demand for E15 from fuel retailers, some fuel retailers need to make relatively minor adjustments to their dispensers so they can make E15 available to their customers. That’s where the State and Federal Biofuel Infrastructure Partnership Programs fit in.

Both State and Federal Funds as well as private matching dollars are available to assist fuel retailers.

But all of this potential is just that until it is actualized. Based on available information, the Program must be completed by the end of the year and to the best of our knowledge has yet to be actualized. Thus, the multi-million dollar question yet to be answered: will the State seize this Biofuel Infrastructure Partnership Program and secure its full implementation based on a realistic timeline?

The second big puzzle piece are greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. While the consultant who put together the Climate Solutions and Economic Opportunities Report dismisses the role of today’s 21st century biofuels in reducing GHG emissions, to ignore this factor and the concomitant science puts Minnesotans at risk.

To compound this problem, State Agencies have gone so far as to dismiss the additive value of more efficient vehicles and biofuels in the fight to reduce GHG emissions. These State Agencies ignore the science and metrics and are content with waiting for only the biofuels of the future.

Dr. Steffen Mueller, with the University of Illinois, Chicago, did some investigation. He found that by simply moving from E10 to E15 as the new unleaded regular, Minnesota could cut annual GHG emissions by 358,000 metric tons. The slight increase in ethanol (from 10 percent to 15 percent) produces a GHG emission reduction which is equivalent to removing at least 75,000 vehicles from Minnesota roadways or installing and operating approximately 90 2MW wind conversation systems.

In 2015 the ethanol industry supported over 18,000 jobs and injected $ 2.1 billion into the economy. These renewable ethanol industry dollars went into the household incomes of real working Minnesotans, tax coffers and the overall vitality of communities.

In addition to the ongoing economic contribution of the renewable ethanol industry to Minnesotans, some producers are investing millions of dollars to further modernize the local ethanol plant and increase the capacity to displace more finite, carbon intensive petroleum gasoline.

E15 offers more octane for engine performance and is generally 10 cents less per gallon compared to regular. Using data from the Energy Information Administration, annual gasoline consumption is approximately 2.4 billion gallons. When we do the math on E15, at 10 cents less per gallon, Minnesotans could save $240 million in a year.

We need to redouble our efforts on fuel supply chain issues and in educating consumers about their fuel choice options and the implications for their household budgets and the environment.