E-15 could save you up to 30 cents a gallon in Nebraska, ethanol board says

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – May is Renewable Fuels Month, and starting on Monday, E-15 is to be sold year-round.

At least, for now, after the Environment Protection Agency issued an emergency waiver.

One renewable fuel that has its roots in Nebraska is ethanol.

Nebraska is the second-largest producer of ethanol in the country.

“The use of a higher blend of ethanol means quite a number of things,” said Reid Wagner, executive director of the Nebraska Ethanol Board. “Really, first and foremost, it means significant savings at the pump.”

The use of a 10% blend saves Nebraskans around $275 million per year, according to the ethanol board.

And recently, consumers have been able to save 10 to 30 cents a gallon by using the 15% blend, the board said.

But sometimes, you may not realize you have the option of that 15% blend, or E-15, at the gas station.

E-15 also goes by unleaded 88 or super unleaded 88.

“When you press that yellow button at the gas station, it normally says 87 like we’re all used to, but that 88 is essentially saying that your engine is going to handle it,” Wagner said.

Owners of vehicles from 2001 and later can safely use blends of ethanol up to E-15 and will often enjoy “significant” savings per gallon, he said.

And not only is it good for your wallet, but it’s also good for the environment.

“The use of higher blends of ethanol also reduces tailpipe emissions,” Wagner said. “It’s the use of renewable fuel, so we’re actively cleaning our air with a good choice of fuel.”

This month celebrates the convergence of the environmental, economic and agricultural sides to renewable fuels like ethanol.

“We do process ethanol,” Wagner said. “That’s, of course, only one part of the corn kernel. The rest of it has to go somewhere. And it actually comes in the form of a co-product that we feed to our beef industry here in the state. We create this nice cyclic system we call the Golden Triangle.”

The Nebraska Ethanol Board says the Golden Triangle shows that corn can provide renewable fuel and an advantaged feed to our livestock, all as a sustainable cycle.

“You have a domestically produced fuel, so now we have this homegrown right here in Nebraska,” Wagner said.

Sen. Deb Fischer reintroduced the Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act of 2023 in March.

She said the bill would allow for E-15 to be sold year-round permanently, while smoothing out regulations for higher blends.

And by May 4, Gov. Jim Pillen will officially declare May as Renewable Fuels Month in Nebraska.