Forces for and against E15 line up in Washington for protracted fight over EPA ruling

The New York Times has published a roundup of the forces supporting and opposing the increase in ethanol blending to E15 for non-flex fuel vehicles.

On the pro-E15 side: ethanol producers led by the Growth Energy trade group, now chaired by General (ret.) Wes Clark now actively testifying on Capitol Hill, as well as Midwestern farm groups. In the middle, EPA and DOE. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu has supported the change if it can be shown that there is no damage to cars.

Opposed: the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, oil refiners and environmental groups who have warned against increased emissions from non flex-fuel vehicles running E15. The AAM has not indicated how Brazilian non-flex-fuel cars can run on hydrous E22 if anhydrous E15 is a danger in the US.

Meanwhile, Ford backed away from reports that it has endorsed E15, saying it would be premature to say it had endorsed E15 despite a letter published Friday by Kiplinger and reported in Biofuels Digest that indicated “the company’s blessing to hiking the base level ethanol blend used by all vehicles in the near term to 15 percent or so.”.

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