WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. President Joe Biden unveiled plans on Tuesday to extend the availability of higher biofuel blends of gasoline during the summer to curb soaring fuel costs and to cut reliance on foreign energy sources.
The move, announced during a trip to an Iowa ethanol plant, (Iowa is the largest ethanol producer in the country) represents the administration’s latest attempt to tamp down inflation, which hit a new 40-year high on Tuesday.
Reuters reports that the decision represents a win for the U.S. corn lobby by likely expanding demand for corn-based ethanol and a setback for oil refiners, which view ethanol as competition.
The measure will allow Americans to keep buying E15, a gasoline that uses a 15% ethanol blend, from June 1 to Sept. 15. While E15 is only 10 cents cheaper on average and is less “energy dense,” meaning drivers would need to buy more fuel, it should still help lower expenses, senior administration officials told reporters on a Monday call previewing the announcement.
“Today’s announcement is a win for consumers, farmers and rural America,” said Scott Stahl, President of the South Dakota Corn Growers Association (SDCGA). “We thank President Joe Biden for making this change when rising prices are putting the pinch on all Americans. The policy that required retailers to stop selling E15 during the summer is outdated and SDCGA supports this policy decision that begins to acknowledge the benefits ethanol can bring to the table.”
South Dakota is the sixth largest ethanol producer in the U.S.
Only a few thousand U.S. gasoline retailers offer E15 at the pump and they must turn off the pumps during the summer season to comply with existing law. Biden told the crowd in Iowa that will change this summer, if only temporarily. He also shared the administration is investing more than $100 billion to build biofuel infrastructure for the future.
American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall, in commenting to the announcement, said, “America’s families are enduring record-high gas prices, and taking advantage of domestically produced fuels will not only drive down costs at the pump, it will also reduce dependence on foreign crude oil while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.”
