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Ethanol producers applaud Governors’ year-round E15 move
Ethanol producers are applauding the bipartisan announcement by eight Midwestern Governors supporting long-term summertime use of E15 fuel blends.
Erik Huschitt is CEO and General Manager at Badger State Ethanol in Monroe, Wisconsin. He tells Brownfield, “When we get through this driving season with what President Biden did, we’d have the same dilemma one year away, and what these Governors are saying, they’re saying enough is enough of this piecing it together. The science is there. This is the best fuel. This is the way to help consumers at the pump. Let’s find a long-term solution.”
Neal Kemmet is President and General Manager at Ace Ethanol in Stanley, Oshkosh, and Green Bay, Wisconsin. He tells Brownfield the action by the Governors is a win for consumers. “For the states that, and the service stations that have E15, it doesn’t have to get pulled off the shelf if you will for two or three months out of the summer. This just allows for year-round offering and year-round consumer choice.”
Kemmet says having E15 certainty will lead to more sales because of wider adoption of the product at more fuel stations. “Should they invest in the infrastructure and the pump upgrade in order to operate E15, you know, just because there are limited choices, they’ll be able to do that year around.”
Huschitt tells Brownfield along with certainty, the Governors’ action gives consistency and direction to the E15 market. “Now we can speak to consumers and educate them on what we’re doing. Now these stations know that they can have these blends and dedicate tanks and all of the things that need to be in motion in order to make this possible so, it’s a real, real big win for the consumer and a real, real, big win for the retailer.”
Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers was among the eight Governors that signed the letter to the EPA. His agriculture Secretary, Randy Romanski tells Brownfield, “In Wisconsin, it’s a win-win because it’s supporting the ethanol industry which is over a billion-dollar industry that supports almost twenty-thousand jobs. It’s promoting the use of home-grown renewable energy grown right here in the state of Wisconsin, to be produced right here by ethanol producers. It’s projected that it could improve air quality and help families save a little money at the pump.”
South Dakota biofuels producer POET also supports the Governors’ Thursday letter to the EPA. In a statement, Joshua Shields says, “Skyrocketing gas prices underscore the need for year-round access to biofuel blends, like E15, that save money, lower emissions, and are made in America.” He says, “The governors’ action is a shining example of how reaching across state lines and across the aisle can fuel a better future for everyone.”
Industry website e85prices.com says Americans save an average of 31 cents per gallon by choosing E15 over E10.
