Summer Fuels New Demand, But Renewable Producers Still Wait on Something Permanent

Once again, the Environmental Protection Agency has issued a waiver to extend the nationwide sales of E15 gasoline, the blended fuel with 15% ethanol. But once again, industry leaders lament how the waiver is still needed to do this. This should be a permanent option for consumers, they say.

The potential impact is big for the industry. The National Corn Growers Association estimates that year-round sales could mean an additional demand of two billion bushels of corn.

E15 has traditionally been restricted during the warmer season due to concerns about smog formation. Although, producers have been pushing back at those concerns for years. The latest EPA waiver is expected to provide consumers with lower fuel prices and bolster domestic energy production, a priority for the Trump administration.

More E15 Waivers Expected

Technically, the waiver only lasts from May 1st to May 20th. But EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin is expected to support additional waivers that would ensure sales could last through September 15th. Eight Midwestern states already received authority for year-round E15 sales (Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin) from the Biden administration last year.

The Biden administration also previously allowed summer sales nationwide of the higher-blended fuel in 2022, 2023, and 2024. But renewable fuels producers are frustrated that Congress and the Trump administration (or any previous administration) have not authorized the permanent nationwide E15 sales.

 “Our nation’s great corn growers are critical to helping the U.S. achieve energy independence, which is essential to national security,” Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said in a statement.

Renewable Fuels Leaders Celebrate Latest E15 Waiver

Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Geoff Cooper praised the administration for the latest waiver. “On his first day in office, President Trump declared a national energy emergency and identified year-round E15 as a solution for extending fuel supplies and reducing pump prices,” Cooper said.

“With geopolitical conflict roiling energy markets worldwide, we applaud President Trump and Administrator Zeldin for acting quickly to combat potential fuel shortages and help keep a lid on gas prices this summer. Allowing uninterrupted sales of E15 will help boost gasoline supplies, bolster the farm economy, and protect air quality.”

May is National Renewable Fuels Month in Nebraska. “Today begins a monthlong celebration of renewable fuels and their impact on our state,” Nebraska Ethanol Board (NEB) Executive Director Ben Rhodes said. “Ethanol and other renewable fuels provide many benefits: they strengthen our rural communities, save drivers money, and contribute to cleaner air.”

Nebraska is second only to Iowa in ethanol production. U.S. Representative Adrian Smith, a Republican who serves as one of the state’s three members of Congress, co-chairs the Congressional Biofuels Caucus. He has been in Congress for two decades and pushed for year-round E15 sales for the past decade.

 “I thank EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin and USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins for taking the necessary action to unleash domestic energy production. A permanent solution to provide long-term certainty is still needed, and I will continue to work toward enactment of my bill, the Nationwide Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act, to eliminate unnecessary restrictions to E15," Smith said in a statement.  

RELATED: An ethanol plant in Minnesota could use additional demand as it struggled to remain open.

Year-Round Sales Help Offset Some Tariff Concerns

Increasing demand for E15 is a priority for renewable fuels industry leaders. Some have expressed concerns about President Trump’s trade war, which they fear could limit U.S. exports and endanger international trade partners who might turn to Brazil for supply instead.

National Corn Growers Association President Kenneth Hartman Jr., an Illinois farmer, released the following statement about the tariff concerns:

 “Approximately 15% of the U.S. corn crop is exported every year, and international markets are critical to our bottom line. So, we are aware of the potential effects that these new tariffs could have on corn growers who are already faced with a troubling economic landscape. We encourage productive negotiations and have supplied the administration with ideas for removing barriers to U.S. corn, ethanol and other corn products as a path to help rectify trade imbalances and help corn growers be more competitive.”

RELATED: Does actor Christopher Walken pose a threat to the country’s corn producers? That might be overstated. But what he supported in a commercial last year is one of the challenges for the ethanol industry as it hopes to expand.