Intermediate-Level Blends of Ethanol in Gasoline, and the Ethanol "Blend Wall"
October 18, 2010 - R40445
On March 6, 2009, Growth Energy (on behalf of 52 U.S. ethanol producers) applied to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for a waiver from the current Clean Air Act (CAA) limitation on ethanol content in gasoline. Currently, ethanol content in gasoline is capped at 10% (E10); the application requests an increase in the maximum concentration to 15% (E15). On October 13, 2010, EPA issued a partial waiver for the use of E15 in model year (MY) 2007 and later passenger cars and light trucks. The agency also announced that it could expand the waiver to MY2001-2006 cars and light trucks after it receives final testing data from the Department of Energy (DOE)--a decision that could come as early as November 2010. At the same time, EPA denied the waiver request for the use of E15 in MY2000 and older passenger vehicles, as well as in motorcycles, heavy trucks, and non-road applications, citing a lack of sufficient data to alleviate the agency's concerns about potential emissions increases from these engines. A broad waiver would allow the use of significantly more ethanol in gasoline than is currently permitted under the CAA. The current 10% limitation leads to an upper bound of roughly ...