The nation’s first E15 (15 percent ethanol/85 percent gasoline) gallons are being sold at a Zarco 66 “Oasis” station in Lawrence, Kansas, and plans to offer E15 at the nation’s second retail station, a Zarco 66 in Ottawa, Kansas, are nearly complete. On June 8, the EPA gave final approval for the sale and use of E15 ethanol blends in light duty vehicles made since 2001. This represents nearly two-thirds of all vehicles on the road and nearly three-fourths of all miles driven. Given present market conditions, E15 will sell for less than E10 and gasoline not containing ethanol.
More broadly, a recent study from the Center for Agriculture and Rural Development found the use of 13.9 billion gallons of ethanol in 2011 lowered average gasoline prices by $1.09 per gallon nationally and by $1.69 per gallon in Midwestern states such as Kansas.Scott Zaremba, owner of Zarco 66 stations, said, “With the help of the Kansas Corn Commission, East Kansas Agri-Energy, and the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), we are pleased to be the first to offer consumers real choice at the pump in the form of E15 ethanol fuel.”
Zaremba, the incoming president of the Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association of Kansas, blends Zarco 66 fuel options right at each of his stations.Pumps offering E15 with the proper labeling will also be offering E10 and other ethanol blends via technology known as blender pumps – allowing consumers to choose their preferred fuel option.
E15 proponents, including Zaremba and East Kansas Agri-Energy General Manager Steve Gardner, say that expanding the ethanol market will reduce U.S. dependence on imported oil, reduce prices at the pump, and create more jobs in rural states.
In order to offer E15 under the waiver conditions set by EPA, producers and retailers must register with EPA and adhere to the misfueling mitigation plan developed by the RFA and approved by EPA. PD
—From Renewable Fuels Association news release
