Growth Energy Campaign Calls on Biden Administration to OK Year-Round E15 Sales

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Growth Energy has launched a new advertising campaign that continues calling on President Biden to direct his administration to lift restrictions on the year-round sale of E15.

According to Growth Energy, such a move would boost energy security and combat the surge in fuel costs accelerated by the conflict in Ukraine.

The ad campaign, airing on FOX, MSNBC, and CNN in the Washington, D.C. area., will run until June 1, when many retailers will be forced to pull E15 from the market due to "oil companies' successful challenge in court to eliminate this fuel choice," stated Growth Energy.

In January, The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal to offer year-round E15, therefore restricting sale of the fuel blend year-round. The move followed a July 2021 decision in which the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia reversed a 2019 move by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to allow year-round E15 sales.

"The White House says all options are on the table to ease surging gas prices, and E15 is a common-sense solution that can deliver immediate relief at the pump," said Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor. "Biofuels are a homegrown, plant-based solution that can further reduce our dependence on foreign oil and shield American drivers from the volatility of the oil market. Right now, U.S. ethanol is available at a deep discount, but consumers can’t tap into those savings without access to higher biofuel blends like E15.

"In some markets, E15 is already saving drivers 50 to 60 cents per gallon, but that option could vanish on June 1 unless the Biden EPA takes swift action. Given the current crisis, we simply can't afford for outdated summertime restrictions to get in the way of clean, affordable biofuels made in the United States. The time to act is now," Skor continued.

Available at more than 2,500 gas stations across 31 states, E15 is approved for more than 96 percent of light duty vehicles, which account for 98 percent of all vehicle miles traveled, according to Growth Energy.

Growth Energy is not alone in these efforts. As Convenience Store News previously reported, a bipartisan group of senators, led by Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), on March 9 sent a letter to President Joe Biden urging him to increase access to higher blends of American biofuels in an effort to curtail rapidly increasing gas prices.

In the letter, signed by 16 senators, they requested President Biden use his administrative authority to permit the sale of E15 fuel during the 2022 summer driving season, extending the Reid Vapor Pressure Waiver from June 1 through Sept. 15.

In addition, NACS, the international trade organization representing the convenience store industry, and SIGMA, America's Leading Fuel Marketers, sent a letter of their own on March 9 to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, encouraging the government organization to exercise its waiver authority pursuant to Section 211 of the Clean Air Act to authorize the year-round sale of gasoline blended with up to 15 percent ethanol.

In a response to a reporter's question, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the U.S. government was considering permitting expanded E15 sales "in a menu of options."

Growth Energy is a national organization representing the producers and supporters of ethanol.