Indiana Grain Company, LLC

Posted: 06/28/10

By: tomgrisafi

While the ethanol industry receives national and international attention through such events as the recently held Iowa Corn Indy 250 race in central Iowa (the only Indy race that is running on 100% corn-based ethanol) there are still plenty of challenges for the corn-based renewable fuel.

Don Elsbernd, president of the Iowa Corn Growers Association and a farmer from Allamakee County in northeast Iowa, says the Environmental Protection Agency's announcement last week to postpone its decision on whether to allow E15 to be used nationwide in non-flex fuel vehicles is one of the bumps along the way. EPA currently only allows up to a 10% blend of ethanol or E10 with gasoline for non-flex fuel cars and trucks in the U.S. The ethanol industry wants EPA to increase the legally allowable limit to a 15% ethanol blend.

"Our current U.S. ethanol production capacity is pretty much filling the demand for ethanol that is required with E10 blending," he says. "This is called the 'blend wall' that the ethanol industry is currently up against. In order for the ethanol industry to grow and progress, we need to be using higher allowable ethanol blend levels in the United States. I've read the reports on the studies that have been released so far and I've listened to the experts and I see no reason why, in time, we can't get to 25% or an E25 blend with gasoline. But for the time being we're hoping we can get EPA to allow an E15 blend."

Ethanol producers pushing for an E-15 ethanol waiver

Growth Energy, an ethanol advocacy group, filed the E15 Green Jobs Waiver with the EPA in March 2009. The document asked that the federal Clean Air Act be waived to allow up to 15% ethanol used in non-flex fuel vehicles.

In his formal waiver submission, General Wesley Clark, co-chairman of Growth Energy, said the approval of the request could mean more than 136,000 new jobs and $24.4 billion pumped into the U.S. economy every year.

Though the EPA waiver process requires a decision within 270 days, the EPA said at the end of 2009 it would delay its decision until mid-year 2010. On June 17, 2010 the EPA announced it would delay its decision until this coming fall in order to finish testing and analyzing the engine effects of switching from E10 to E15 in newer vehicles.

920 million bushels of Iowa corn now goes to ethanol each year.

Source: ICGA