In a major blow to the ethanol industry and its supporters in Congress, a bill to expand the availability of gasoline containing 15 percent ethanol has stalled in the Senate and won’t come up for a committee vote before the August recess. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee announced Friday morning the E15 measure, […]
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Pro-ethanol bill dividing both parties
An unlikely coalition of environmentalists, labor unions, boaters and some of the Senate’s most conservative Republicans is mobilizing to fend off a pro-ethanol bill that has divided both parties and, if passed, would mark one of the biggest wins in recent memory for the industry. Ethanol champions in the Senate are pushing the Consumer and […]
E15 ethanol debate reaches tipping point in Congress
For gasoline retailers, it’s an annual tradition: Each summer, federal law requires them to swap out the higher-blend ethanol fuel E15 from their pumps to comply with EPA regulations that limit ground-level ozone. But the debate over whether E15 — gasoline blended with 15 percent ethanol, an increasingly popular alternative to the common E10 fuel […]
Terry Branstad, new ambassador, sent in to smooth over Chinese ethanol crisis
Seeking to boost its own renewable fuel production and achieve energy independence, China has declared war on the U.S. ethanol industry by instituting harsh tariffs on American products — and the Trump administration is sending to Beijing the man best positioned to broker peace between the two sides. Newly minted U.S. Ambassador to China Terry […]
Ethanol-free fuel demand grows
Ethanol’s rise over the past decade has given birth to an under-the-radar market: Americans who are willing to travel miles out of their way and pay significantly more per gallon for ethanol-free fuel. Like locally sourced food or antibiotic-free chickens and eggs, so-called E0, or “pure gas,” has generated a cultlike following willing to pay […]
Ethanol industry, small-engine manufacturers clash over damage from fuel
(THE ETHANOL ECONOMY: Part of an occasional series) Manufacturers of lawn mowers, snowblowers, chainsaws, and other small-engine equipment continue fueling a debate over the supposed dangers of ethanol, but the ethanol industry argues that they are merely looking for a scapegoat to mask operator error. Gasoline blended with ethanol has become commonplace for American drivers, […]