National Corn Growers thank senators for bill that would make E15 year-round fuel

The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) last week congratulated two U.S. senators for introducing a bill that would enable consumers to use a renewable alternative fuel year-round.

The Fuel Choice and Deregulation Act was recently introduced by Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Rand Paul (R-KY). It would make the E15 gasoline-ethanol blend fuel more readily available by extending its one-pound waiver.

“Consumers should have access to higher blends of clean, renewable fuel year-round,” Maryland farmer and NCGA President Chip Bowling said. “This legislation would remove a regulatory hurdle to that access, and give consumers more choices at the pump.”

Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) measures the evaporation rate of gasoline. EPA has granted a one-pound waiver to E10 blends that allows it to be sold year-round throughout the United States. E15 has a slightly lower RVP than E10, and the EPA refuses to grant E15 the same waiver. Without the waiver, E15 for flex-fuel vehicles can only be used by approximately 60 percent of the country from June 1 – Sept. 15. If the bill passes, NCGA expects far more retailers would offer E15 since they can sell it year-round.

“We applaud Senators Grassley and Paul for their leadership on this issue, and we urge Congress to pass this bill,” Bowling said.