E15: Decision made on ethanol blend in US

A move to block the sale of E15 blended petrol in the US has been quashed by the US Supreme Court this June.

The court rejected a challenge by the American Petroleum Institute (API), the chief lobbying group for the oil industry, that the blend was unsafe for consumption in cars and motorcycles built pre-2001.

Bob Greco, a senior API official, claimed the use of E15 ‘could leave millions of consumers with broken down cars and high repair bills’. Concerns about the knock-on effect on the price of food have also been aired.

But the court left in place a federal appeals court ruling that dismissed all challenges by the API and trade associations that represent restaurants and food producers among others.

E15 is currently sold at 20 petrol stations throughout the Midwest but this decision means it can now potentially go nationwide and eventually replace E10 at the pumps if market demand is there.

‘Now this final word has been issued, I hope oil companies will begin to work with biofuel producers to help bring new blends into the marketplace that allow for consumer choice and savings,’ Tom Buis, CEO of ethanol industry group Growth Energy, was quoted as saying.

But the American Automobile Association has been reported as saying sales of E15 should be halted to ‘allow for additional testing and agreement between car manufacturers and ethanol producers as to which vehicles can safely use the fuel’.