WISCONSIN — The White House urged Congress on Wednesday to approve a bill allowing the permanent year-round sale of E15 biofuel. This follows a waiver issued in March by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that permits E15 sales through the summer.

E15 biofuel, also known as Unleaded 88, is a gasoline blend containing 15 percent ethanol. Ten percent ethanol blend is currently available year-round. The sale of E15 has typically been prohibited from June through September due to pollution concerns. The EPA waiver allowing summer sales was issued under the second Trump administration.

The House version of the bill to make year-round E15 sales permanent has already passed. Republican U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden is a co-sponsor of this legislation, as is Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin in the Senate. In 2022, Gov. Tony Evers signed an open letter advocating for the EPA to allow E15 fuel sales throughout the year.

Scott Irwin, an agricultural economist at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, stated that a nationwide shift to a 15 percent ethanol blend could increase corn demand for ethanol production by 50 percent. "Moving to a 15 percent ethanol blend nationwide would lead to a 50 percent increase in the demand for corn used to make ethanol," Irwin said. He added, "That would be jumping at least 2 to 2.5 billion bushels of increased corn demand." Irwin noted, "There are significant costs to transition to E15 at each of those points in the supply chain."

Jeff Hadachek, an assistant professor and extension specialist in agriculture and applied economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, discussed the environmental implications. "If we’re making more of our fuels from corn ethanol, that’s less fossil fuels that we are extracting and emitting into the atmosphere," Hadachek said. He also pointed out a counterpoint, stating, "On the other side of this, cultivating more land also emits carbon into the atmosphere."

The environmental group Clean Wisconsin released a statement in February opposing the permanent expansion of E15 sales. The organization stated that increased corn production could contaminate drinking water due to higher fertilizer and nitrogen application. Clean Wisconsin also stated that the move would worsen pollution during the summer months, potentially leading to an increase in asthma attacks and respiratory infections.

Why It Matters

The White House's push for permanent year-round sales of E15 biofuel could alter the fuel market and agricultural sector. The proposed change, which has already passed in the House, would eliminate seasonal restrictions on E15 sales that have been in place due to pollution concerns. This legislative effort aligns with some state-level calls for expanded E15 access, such as the open letter signed by Gov. Tony Evers in 2022. The debate involves economic considerations for drivers and environmental impacts related to both emissions and agricultural practices, as noted by various experts and environmental groups.