Higher Ethanol Share Likely For Gasoline

Although it won't make a final decision until mid-2010, EPA suggested last week that it will increase the allowable ethanol content in gasoline to 15% from the current 10%. The agency says it is waiting for the results of an Energy Department study on whether gasoline with 15% ethanol, called E15, might damage the engines of cars and trucks. But to achieve the national renewable-fuel standard, ethanol will eventually need to be blended into gasoline at levels higher than 10%, the agency said in a letter to Growth Energy, a biofuels association. The trade group petitioned the agency under the Clean Air Act to boost ethanol content in gasoline. "Moving to E15 provides a much-needed market opportunity for the domestic ethanol industry by adding 7 billion new gallons of market potential," which is needed to draw capital investment for cellulosic ethanol, says Tom Buis, CEO of Growth Energy. Jeremy Martin, a senior scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists, says a decision on increasing ethanol limits in gasoline should be based on a complete analysis of how it would affect engines, public health, the environment, and consumers.