Gas stations will soon offer fuel with more ethanol. Could it save you money?
Hoping to expand access to more affordable fuel options, President Joe Biden announced on April 12 that E15 gasoline — gas that uses 15% of ethanol — will be allowed to be sold in summer 2022.
“The President is committed to doing everything he can to address the pain Americans are feeling at the pump as a result of Putin’s Price Hike,” the White House said in a statement.
As summer nears, the Environmental Protection Agency is expected to issue a national emergency waiver to its previous regulation that prevents E15 from being used in most of the U.S. between June 1 and Sept. 15 each year, according to a news release from the White House.
Officials say the emergency waiver could help increase fuel supplies and offer people in the U.S. more affordable options at the pump.
“At current prices, E15 can save a family 10 cents per gallon of gas on average,” the White House officials said in the release.
Gas prices rose dramatically in the last few months, reaching the highest recorded national average in March with $4.33, according to AAA.
The administration says using more ethanol should also help reduce the U.S. dependence on foreign fuels — a key issue after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine prompted Biden to ban Russian oil.
Why is ethanol added to gasoline?
Ethanol is mixed with pure gasoline to help oxygenate the gas, “causing the fuel to burn completely. Thus ethanol-infused gases produce cleaner air emissions,” March Nelson Oil Products, a petroleum energy supplier, explained.
Fuel ethanol is also used because it is produced in the U.S., using mostly fermented corn, according to Motor Biscuit.
Most of the gasoline sold at U.S. pumps actually contains some ethanol, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
There are three kinds of ethanol-gasoline blends, the agency says: E10, which is gasoline with 10% of ethanol, E15 with 15% of ethanol, and E85 with up to 85% of ethanol.
Most of the ethanol-gasoline blends currently sold in the U.S. are E10, according to the agency.
“E15 is currently offered at 2,300 gas stations in the country, where it can serve as an important — and more affordable — source of fuel,” administration officials said.
While ethanol-gasoline blends tend to be cheaper per gallon, E15 is less “energy dense,” White House officials told reporters, meaning “drivers would need to buy more fuel,” Reuters reported.
Is ethanol bad for the environment?
While pure ethanol is nontoxic and biodegradable, a mix of ethanol and gasoline has “higher evaporative emissions from fuel tanks,” according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
These emissions, while less than pure gasoline, do contribute to the “formation of harmful, ground-level ozone and smog,” according to the organization’s website.
A look at ethanol’s total impact on the environment is more complicated.
”The effect that increased ethanol use has on net CO2 emissions depends on how ethanol is made and whether or not indirect impacts on land use are included in the calculations,” according to the EPA. “Growing plants for fuel is a controversial topic because some people believe the land, fertilizers, and energy used to grow biofuel crops should be used to grow food crops instead.”
The agency will collaborate with states across the U.S. to monitor any “significant air quality impacts” this summer, according to the White House.
Depending on how things go, the EPA is also considering allowing the use of E15 yearround, officials say.
This story was originally published April 12, 2022 at 5:02 PM with the headline "Gas stations will soon offer fuel with more ethanol. Could it save you money?."
