The Biden administration is slated to grant a request from Midwestern state leaders to allow the year-round sale of higher blends of ethanol in gasoline beginning in 2025, a decision likely to be met with mixed reactions from the states, which had pushed for the expansion but not the delayed start date.
The action, reported by Reuters, would fulfill a petition filed in 2022 by the governors of Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin, who had asked the administration for year-round sales of E15 gasoline, which is 15% ethanol.
While the 2025 start date is far later than Midwestern states had hoped, the Environmental Protection Agency could grant the states temporary authorization in the near term to enable E15 sales as needed, Reuters reported.
The administration is expected to issue its final decision on the ethanol-blend gasoline by the end of March.
An expansion of E15 gasoline sales would be a win for Midwestern states and the ethanol lobby, which have pushed hard to lift restrictions on ethanol gas set under the Renewable Fuel Standard.
Proponents of ethanol gasoline argue the RFS overstates the environmental effects of ethanol and increases gasoline prices due to the higher compliance costs.
But the expansion is likely to spark criticism from supporters of the more stringent standards, who say the limit on ethanol helps reduce the amount of transportation-based carbon dioxide emissions released by drivers.
Currently, the administration restricts sales of the higher-percentage ethanol blend gasoline during the summer months, when smog is worse due to the warmer temperatures.
News of the E15 extension comes just months ahead of the November presidential election, in which at least two of the Midwest states in question, Wisconsin and Minnesota, will play a key role in determining whether President Joe Biden will be elected to a second term.
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Biden previously ordered the EPA to lift near-term restrictions on E15 in 2022 to help lower soaring gas prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Neither the White House nor the EPA returned the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.
