A biofuel known as E15 may soon be available year-round in the United States after a bipartisan push to reintroduce the Nationwide Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act — a move supported by the American Petroleum Institute, the largest oil and natural gas trade association in the country. However, critics argue there may be more to the bill than meets the eye.
What's happening?
As detailed by Reuters, the Environmental Protection Agency announced Feb. 21 that it will uphold a plan from Joe Biden's presidency to allow year-round sales of E15 — which contains a higher percentage of ethanol at 15% than its E10 counterpart, per the U.S. Department of Energy — in eight Midwestern states beginning April 28.
Those states include Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. In its release, the EPA revealed that Congress hopes to agree to a nationwide policy on E15 before the summer, when many people typically hit the road for vacations.
The API is one of the trade groups backing this nationwide push, along with the Renewable Fuels Association, National Corn Growers Association, Growth Energy, National Farmer Union, and National Association of Convenience Stores, per a media release from the office of U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer, a Nebraska Republican who headed the reintroduction of the Nationwide Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act with five Democratic and eight Republican co-sponsors.
A nationwide policy "would prevent a patchwork of state-by-state policies while ensuring consumers have access to the fuels they depend on every day," Will Hupman, API vice president of downstream policy, told Reuters.
Why is this important?
Proponents of E15 argue that biofuel is crucial to ensuring energy independence, ultimately lowering prices at the gas pump while simultaneously supporting job growth, including in rural communities dependent on agriculture.
"Homegrown biofuels are tools we have right now to address climate change, strengthen our nation's energy infrastructure, and lower costs for Americans at the gas pump," said U.S. Rep. Angie Craig, a Minnesota Democrat who introduced companion legislation in the House, per the office of Sen. Fischer. "This bill is the kind of commonsense legislation we need more of in Washington."
However, even though biofuels like E15 "burn cleaner" than traditional gasoline, they have "higher evaporative emissions," meaning they contribute to the formation of toxic ground-level ozone and smog, as the U.S. Energy Information Administration explains.
All in all, some types of biofuel could also account for more pollution in the long run compared to traditional gasoline if their production relies on dirty fuels — which already generate the bulk of the heat-trapping gases leading to more intense extreme weather as global temperatures rise. Biodiesel production has also contributed to deforestation in some regions.
What can be done about this?
Critics argue that going all in on E15 or other biofuels without accounting for their complexities could lead to more environmental harm than good, hindering support for a booming electric vehicle market along with investments in infrastructure ideas supported by most Americans, such as developing more walkable and bikeable areas and a better public transportation system.
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