Time to set the record straight on EPA’s premature approval of E15 fuel for the marketplace – necessitated by EPA administrator nominee Gina McCarthy’s recent inaccurate and misleading responses to Senate questions about E15 testing. McCarthy was asked:

“Was EPA aware of ongoing (Coordinating Research Council) testing on engine durability, fuel pumps and other engine components? Why not wait until that test was complete before making a decision? Because in the aftermath it looks like the decision was, at best, premature. The CRC data shows millions of approved vehicles are in danger of engine damage.”

Let’s take on the faulty claims in McCarthy’s written responses in turn:

EPA or the Energy Department was “expressly denied” a role in CRC’s E15 testing program: False

• EPA, D... more »

In a March 7 blog post, Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) President, Bob Dinneen claimed that the recent increase in RIN prices is not related to the E10 blendwall, and that the blendwall itself is a myth perpetrated by oil companies as an “excuse for their refusal to move to higher-level ethanol blends.”  He then makes a number of claims that were presumably intended to bolster his misplaced conclusion.  Conveniently, the post does not propose an alternative theory for RIN prices that have gone from 3 cents apiece to over $1, before retreating to about 70 cents today, in less than one years’ time.

The post also ignores that the petroleum industry is only one in a sea of voices raising concern over the negative impacts that E15 and unrealistically high ethanol blending requirements wou... more »

The ethanol lobby doesn’t like the latest research on E15 – gasoline containing 15 percent ethanol – because it raises questions about EPA’s premature decision to approve E15 for use in post-2001 cars and light-duty trucks. The Coordinating Research Council (CRC) study warns that E15 could damage fuel pumps and onboard fuel measurement systems, potentially affecting millions of vehicles. This follows last year’s CRC finding that E15 could damage car and truck engines.  

Since ethanol producers’ goal is more ethanol use, and an EPA pullback on E15 would get in the way of that goal, attacks on both studies – such as those by the Renewable Fuels Association – aren’t surprising. But let’s be candid: They won’t be around if and when motorists end up on the side of the road with a seized-up... more »

Earlier this week API highlighted new research by the Coordinating Research Council (CRC) on serious potential problems with vehicle fuel systems when operated on E15 fuel – gasoline containing 15 percent ethanol.

In addition to CRC’s research, we want to call attention to a recent paper from Oak Ridge National Lab (ORNL) that was published by the Society for Automotive Engineers (SAE).  This study examined the effects of E15 on malfunction indicator lights (MIL), also known as “check engine lights.”

As might be expected given the source sponsoring the SAE paper, the study attempts to downplay the risk of a substantial number of MIL illuminations with E15 and with E20.  Nevertheless, two of the main conclusions (from the last page of the paper) are very telling and support the concer... more »

There’s new research showing E15 (15 percent ethanol) fuel could damage vehicles, potentially stranding motorists and/or saddling them with expensive repair bills – one of a number of reasons the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) should be scrapped.

Following on a report last spring that said E15 could damage engines and cars and trucks, the Coordinating Research Council (CRC) has a new study that found E15 can mess up fuel pump systems and fuel measurement systems, potentially affecting “millions and millions” of vehicles, Bob Greco, API downstream and industry operations director, said in a conference call with reporters. Greco:

“This additional E15 testing, completed this month, has identified an elevated incidence of fuel pump failures, fuel system component swelling and impairmen... more »