MENLO, Iowa (Reuters) — U.S. President Joe Biden is promising to extend the availability of higher biofuel blends of gasoline during the summer to curb soaring fuel costs and cut reliance on foreign energy sources.
The move, announced during a trip to an Iowa ethanol plant, represents the administration’s latest attempt to tamp down inflation, which recently hit a new 40-year high.
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.
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The measure will allow Americans to keep buying E15, a gasoline that uses a 15 percent 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.
Only a few thousand U.S. gasoline retailers offer E15 at the pump and they must turn off the pumps during summer to comply with existing law. Biden told the crowd in Iowa that will change this summer, if only temporarily.
“You’re not going to show up at your local gas station and see a bag over the pump that has the cheapest gas. You’re going to be able to keep filling E15,” Biden said.
The decision comes after several weeks of internal debate within the White House that pitted environmental advocates like Gina McCarthy against Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, a former governor of Iowa, according to two sources familiar with the discussions.
The summertime ban on E15 was imposed over concerns it contributes to smog in hot weather, though research has shown that the 15 percent blend may not increase smog relative to the more common 10 percent blends sold year-round.
Biden announced the E15 extension during a visit to POET Bioprocessing, the largest biofuel producer in the U.S. in major corn producing state Iowa.
“We applaud president Biden and his administration for recognizing that low-cost, low-carbon ethanol should be given a fair opportunity to strengthen our energy security and reduce record-high pump prices,” Renewable Fuels Association President Geoff Cooper said.
To make the change, the Environmental Protection Agency is planning to issue a national emergency waiver closer to June, administration officials said. The EPA is also considering additional action to allow for the use of E15 year-round, the White House said.
