Biden Administration grants waiver for summertime E15 gasoline sales; Reynolds “thrilled” with announcement

WASHINGTON — The Biden Administration has issued a waiver that clears the way for sales of E15 gasoline to be sold in the summer months.

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds and a bipartisan group of governors have asked the EPA to grant a waiver so gas with a 15% blend of ethanol can be sold through the summer months in eight Midwestern states. Reynolds and the other governors said E15 is a lower cost alternative for consumers and keeping gasoline with a higher blend of ethanol on available year round would address some potential fuel shortages caused by the war in Ukraine.

EPA Administrator Michael Regan says with the war having a profound impact on global and domestic energy markets, he’s concluded that it’s necessary to grant the waiver in order to minimize and prevent the disruption of summertime fuel supply to consumers.

Reynolds in a written statement says she’s thrilled by the announcement, saying it’s a huge win for Iowa farmers and the state’s ethanol industry and “proves that even our biggest adversaries can’t ignore the advantage biofuels brings to our country’s economy and national security”.