Government sources say the Environmental Protection Agency is on track to announce by the end of this month whether to increase the current 10 percent maximum blend of ethanol in gasoline for conventional engines to 15 percent, for 2007 and newer cars. Most observers expect EPA to approve the E15 blends for 2007 and newer automobiles.
However, some sources say EPA may need additional time than its previously stated end-of-November deadline to decide whether to allow E15 to be used in automobiles manufactured between 2001 and 2006.
In related news, the ethanol trade lobby group Growth Energy is seeking support of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to help lobby Congress to accept a proposal that would replace the current ethanol blender tax subsidy with incentives for building ethanol fuel infrastructure, also known as the "Fueling Freedom" plan. Sen. Dick Lugar (R-Ind.) and Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) reportedly will introduce an amendment that includes portions of the Fueling Freedom plan as part of an energy bill or in oil-spill response legislation that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) introduced just before the congressional summer recess.
The Growth Energy plan calls for the gradual elimination of the volumetric ethanol excise tax credit (VEETC) that refiners receive for blending ethanol in gasoline to meet the requirements of the federal renewable fuel standard. The VEETC phase out would be paired with the inclusion of new incentives and programs to build out the country's ethanol distribution system, according to Growth Energy.
The plan also calls for loan guarantees for the construction of enormous ethanol pipelines to connect the Midwest with population centers on the eastern seaboard; requires automakers to increase the number of flexible fuel vehicles produced that can burn higher ethanol fuel blends; and calls for increased use of blender pumps that allow consumers to choose the level of ethanol blended in gasoline at refueling stations.
U.S. government officials will likely comment on ethanol topics, including the upcoming EPA decisions on E15, when they appear at Growth Energy's legislative meeting on September 13-15. Officials scheduled to address the meeting include EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, Secretary of Energy Steven Chu and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.
