DES MOINES, Iowa — With President Joe Biden set to visit Menlo on Tuesday, Monty Shaw, Executive Director of Iowa Renewable Fuels Association, is wanting the president to, in his eyes, save E15.
"We're hopeful that if he's coming to Iowa, and if he's coming to an ethanol plant, that he's going to announce some emergency action that will allow E15, often marketed as unleaded 88, to continue to be sold this summer," Shaw said.
According to Shaw, Iowa is the number one ethanol producer in the nation and Iowa's fuel distributors are the number one customers in the state. The effects of the president's decisions would be felt throughout Iowa.
"We have more at stake in expanding demand, almost all Americans about 95% of fuel we sell in the United States is E10. And so if we're going to grow demand for domestic biofuels like ethanol, we need to get to those higher blends," Shaw said.
Shaw believes being able to sell homegrown products, like ethanol and biodiesel makes it a no-brainer for allowing E15 to stick around after the current June 1 deadline.
"Help your car help your wallet, help the Iowa economy, find the unleaded 88. and we're sure hopeful that President Biden is going to make that announcement tomorrow," Shaw said.
Meanwhile, Fuel Iowa's John Maynes echoed Shaw's desire for more W15 and hopes Biden addresses some of the infrastructure challenges the biofuel industry faces.
"I hope the president can be conscious of and lend some assistance, particularly in the Midwest, for retailers who are looking to make investments, you know, a traditional convenience store to upgrade their tanks and their lines and their dispensers. You're looking at $400,000 to $500,000 in investments to simply move from the 10D-15," Maynes said.
