E15: A Bold First Step for American Energy Independence

Last week, the Digest ran “E15 Ethanol: bridge to tomorrow, or bridge to nowhere?” in which we criticized the focus on E15 ethanol blending. As a counterpoint, we invited Tom Buis, CEO of Growth Energy and a Digest columnist, to present an opposing view on E15 and look at the merits of the effort to move from E10 to E15 blending.

By Tom Buis,
CEO, Growth Energy

How important is E15?

To the ethanol industry, E15 represents a major market increase at a time when our industry is pushing up against the ten percent blend wall. This artificial cap on the ethanol market serves as a deterrent to capital investment in next generation ethanol from cellulosic biomass.

To the consumer, E15 represents relief from high gas prices at the pump and relief from a dependence on oil from parts of the world that are either politically unstable, or outright hostile to U.S. interests.

The EPA’s decision to allow E15 in all cars manufactured in the last decade came in response to Growth Energy’s Green Jobs Waiver, a petition we filed in March of 2009 to raise the blend wall and create new market opportunity for the industry. After exhaustive analysis by the Department of Energy (DOE) on the effects of E15 on vehicle emissions, durability and performance, the tests confirmed that E15 is safe for all cars 2001 and newer.

EPA’s E15 decision is an evolutionary effort to capture the promise of ethanol and change America’s energy future for the better. An E15 blend could create 136,000 new jobs in the United States, eliminate the carbon that would have been released from the burning of millions of gallons of gasoline, and take the equivalent of Venezuela  out of the business of importing oil into the United States.

There is no question that E15 decision is a good decision. But it is only the beginning.

Long term, an investment in infrastructure like Flex Fuel pumps and Flex Fuel vehicles would accelerate the use of alternatives and put the power to choose back in the hands of the consumer. Growth Energy’s Fueling Freedom plan calls for the build out of 200,000 blender pumps and as many as 120 million Flex Fuel vehicles. This investment would create permanent access to the fuel market and level the playing field for all liquid transportation fuels.

Fortunately, the Administration has recognized American ethanol’s role in securing our energy future. In an effort spearheaded by Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, the USDA’s Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) is helping retailers install Flex Fuel pumps which would provide drivers with a choice of mid- and high-level ethanol blends in more locations across the country.

Greater access to clean-burning domestic ethanol means less reliance on foreign oil – making our nation stronger, more economically secure and environmentally friendlier for our children and grandchildren.  And, even more important, when we produce ethanol in the United States, we’re also producing jobs that cannot be outsourced in this country.
Approval of E15 is the first crack in the blend wall in more than 30 years, but if we truly want to realize our energy security and environmental goals, we need to tear down the blend wall completely and let ethanol compete with oil on a level playing field.

In the meantime, the initial move to E15 will set us on the path toward America’s energy independence.