Iowa’s ethanol love affair with ethanol fades? State trails national average in E10 usage

In Iowa, figures from the Iowa Department of Revenue show that Iowans are choosing E10 gasoline blends 71 percent of the time, compared to 80 percent nationally.

Monte Shaw of the  Iowa Renewable Fuels Association said “While the rest of the country has steadily increased ethanol use since 2006, Iowa has at best held even and now seems to be falling back.”  In 2006, the Iowa Legislature adopted the 25% Iowa Renewable Fuels Standard.  The program provided three years of infrastructure grants and E85 and biodiesel tax credits to help retailers prepare for the 2009 standard. A retailer calculates its renewable content by comparing all ethanol and biodiesel gallons to total gasoline sales.  For example, 71% E10 sales, with no E85 or biodiesel sales, would equate into a 7.1% renewable content.

Shaw notes, “Those retailers offering consumers biodiesel, mid-level ethanol blends, or E85 should easily achieve the 10% threshold set by the Iowa Renewable Fuels Standard.  But with only three months of overall sales data to go, it is clear that the state as a whole will not only miss the first year target, but could likely take a step back.”

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