• E15 Basics
• Why are consumers interested in mid-level ethanol blends?
• What are the benefits of offering E15?
• How large is the market for E15?
• What is the installation process like?
• Does Growth Energy provide marketing materials?
• How many flex fuel vehicles (FFVS) are on the road today?

E15 Basics

E15 – unleaded gasoline mixed with 15 percent ethanol – is approved for use by the EPA for cars 2001 and newer.

• More than 96 percent of the vehicles on the road today are approved for using E15.
• Consumers have driven more than 90 billion miles on E15.
• Provides the same mileage as 87 regular, according to a recent Department of Energy Catalyst study.
• Produces lower emissions than regular gasoline, reducing the amount of toxins and greenhouse gasses in the air.
• Ethanol burns cleaner and cooler in engines than standard fuel.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why are consumers interested in mid-level ethanol blends?

The cost of higher ethanol blends, like E15, are typically less expensive than the standard E10 grade.

Consumers are finding that E15 is a smart choice for their engines and allows them to choose a fuel that is cleaner burning. Consumers have driven over 90 billion miles on E15.

Retailers are also discovering that offering a flex fuel blend like E85 is another revenue stream that helps differentiate their location. Sales at locations that offer both E15 and E85 continue to climb as consumers keep reaching for these higher blends.

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What are the benefits of offering E15?

Higher ethanol blends are the cost-efficient solution.
Ethanol is historically less expensive than conventional gasoline, meaning the higher the ethanol blend, typically the less expensive the fuel. Research has shown mid-level blends offer similar mileage so choosing E15 is a cost-effective choice for consumers.

Ethanol blends offer an environmentally conscious solution.
All levels of ethanol-enriched fuel emit less toxins, such as carbon monoxide and other greenhouse emissions than conventional gasoline and meet EPA requirements. However, the higher levels of ethanol available through alternative blends offer even better results.

Price Advantage.
By offering ethanol blended fuels retailers gain a competitive advantage over competitors.

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How large is the market for E15?

E15 is approved for use with vehicles 2001 and newer, which represent over 96 percent of the vehicles on the road today.

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What is the installation process like?

When retailers are interested in adding E15, they can easily add the fuel to new build locations or locations where they are remodeling or replacing fuel equipment. In many cases, retailers are also adding E15 to their fuel mix using existing equipment. Infrastructure at retail locations can be unique, but Growth Energy has assisted with more than 2,200 installations and can help you determine the best path for your site. Growth Energy can help you with determining what equipment is best for your location, regulatory, technical and marketing activities will help you be successful with higher ethanol blends. Contact Growth Energy using the form below.

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Does Growth Energy provide marketing materials?

Growth Energy has developed a P.O.P. and station imaging kit to assist retailers in advertising the availability of high- and mid-level blends of ethanol. We can help you with dispenser imaging, screen videos and other promotional tools to help differentiate your location versus your competitors. Contact Growth Energy Market Development using the form below to learn more about these valuable tools.

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How many flex fuel vehicles (FFVS) are on the road today?

There are more than 27 million FFVs on America’s highways today. There are 5,500 fueling stations that carry higher ethanol blends, across the nation and more are being added every week.

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The post Frequently Asked Questions: For Retailers appeared first on Growth Energy.

Get Biofuel’s Green American Road Trip received three w3 Awards: a gold award for social content and marketing, as well as two silver awards in the environmental and sustainability video and influencer marketing for social good categories.

“We have seen great success with this consumer initiative that uses cutting-edge creative elements and targeted digital deployment to engage new audiences on the benefits of biofuels. We are not only thrilled to grow the base of consumers who are opting for Unleaded 88 when at the pump, but also honored to see this campaign get the recognition it deserves,” said Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor.

The Green American Road Trip initiative, which launched in February 2023, is a consumer engagement effort aimed at elevating the benefits of higher biofuel blends. By showing American drivers just how easy it is to make a greener choice for their family and the planet when on the road, a growing number of consumers are making the switch to Unleaded 88 (a fuel blend of 15% plant-based ethanol also known as E15 that is approved for all cars 2001 and newer).

This summer, through a partnership with Gold Medal Olympian and New York Times Bestselling author Shawn Johnson East and her family, Get Biofuel was able to tap into a market of like-minded consumers – busy families on the go – to showcase how a simple change at the pump could make a lasting impact on the planet.

“We loved partnering with Get Biofuel because of everything they stand for. As a mom, having greener, cleaner air for my kids to grow up with is so important to me. Plus, we had such a blast on our Green American Road Trip,” said Johnson East.

The East Family took the first Green American Road Trip from Nashville, Tenn. to Dallas, Texas in the spring, and then headed out again this summer to Shawn’s hometown Des Moines, Iowa. They documented the trip along the way with their social media followers, encouraging them to take their own Green American Road Trip with the help of fully planned road trip itineraries and quick access to the Get Biofuel Trip Planner to map out their route.

Learn more about the w3 Awards here.

For more information about Get Biofuel, click here.

The post Growth Energy’s “Green American Road Trip” Recognized for Digital Excellence appeared first on Growth Energy.

The highest year of ethanol production was 2018, when 16.091 billion gallons of ethanol were produced domestically. In 2021, it is estimated that 15.016 billion gallons of ethanol were produced. We believe that both these figures represent conservative estimates of how much ethanol could reasonably be produced in 2023. The 2021 volume was suppressed substantially by low demand for transportation fuel in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. And neither figure accounts for the continuing growth in the productivity of U.S. corn growers or the steady improvements in the efficiency of U.S. corn ethanol plants. As explained below in greater detail, these developments have allowed U.S. ethanol production to continuously increase their production capability without requiring increasing corn acreage or adversely impacting the supply of corn available for other domestic non-ethanol demands or export markets. In fact,
we conclude that, accounting for these developments, 16.147 billion gallons could be produced domestically in 2023.

The post Assessment of Production and Consumption Capacity of Conventional Ethanol in 2023-2025 appeared first on Growth Energy.

• E15 is approved for 2001 and newer vehicles, or over 96% of the vehicles on the road today and account for more than 98% of the vehicle miles traveled
• Retailers have completed millions of E15 transactions with no reported fuel-related issues of any kind
• Consumers have driven nearly 100 billion miles on E15

Growth Energy Market Development’s main priority is to grow the market domestically and globally. Our priority on the domestic market front is expanding the E15 marketplace and we work directly with retailers to provide them with expertise to navigate the regulatory landscape. Adopting E15 is oftentimes easier than retailers think, depending on infrastructure already set in place. Many retailers can use their current infrastructure and purchase pre-blended E15, which also reduces the cost immensely for new infrastructure. For a new site builds, retailers have the option to purchase blender pumps and blend E15 through the dispenser on site with E85 and 87.

Considering E15 in Your Product Lineup?

Our team is also always available to help walk you through the process or answer any questions.

• The Environment Protection Agency (EPA) accepts EITHER of the following to show equipment compatibility with E15:
  • UL Listing
  • Manufacturer’s Warranty:
    • Wayne dispensers are all compatible to E15, their newer dispensers (2014) are approved up to E40. More info can be found
    • Gilbarco dispensers since 2008 are all compatible for E15.
    • Since around 1980, petroleum equipment manufacturers have offered compatible for blends above 10% ethanol including: storage tanks, piping, valves, hanging hardware, dispensers, hoses, and nozzles, as the standard equipment for sale. For manufacturer letters about compatibility for ethanol blends above 10% visit the Petroleum Equipment Library here: PEI’s website.
• Nearly all UST made in the last 30 years are approved up to 100% ethanol. Learn more here: Fiberglass Tank & Pipe Institute.
• The majority of current installed tanks can store blends above E10. For many decades, underground storage tank (UST) manufacturers approved their tanks for blends up to E100, for example, all steel tanks in service, regardless of age are approved for storing E15. Also, the majority of double-walled fiberglass tanks installed since the year 1990 are compatible with E15. Manufacturers of pipe thread sealants (pipe dope) used in UST systems have stated that their products have been compatible with ethanol blends up to E20 for many years. Learn more here.
• The Steel Tank Institute confirms that steel tanks are also compatible with 100% ethanol. To learn more, see the Steel Tank institute document that is recognized by regulators as approval for E15 storage here. For a summary of this information click here.

The post Equipment Compatability appeared first on Growth Energy.

E15 is offered by more than 386 suppliers at 113 terminal locations across the country.

The post Pre-Blended Supply appeared first on Growth Energy.

The post The Benefits of E15 appeared first on Growth Energy.

The post Unleaded 88 Brand Guidelines appeared first on Growth Energy.

This study estimates the impact for consumers and the U.S. economy of expanding E15 use to the nation’s entire motor gasoline supply based on annualized current (year-to-date 2022) production and consumption levels and input prices. As such, this study updates and revises our 2021 analysis of the impacts of nationwide E15 use that was based on historical data.

The post Impact on Consumer Savings from Year-Round Nationwide E15 Use appeared first on Growth Energy.

The primary objective of this program is to better understand the impact of increasing ethanol blending on gaseous and particulate emissions from current gasoline direct injection (GDI) and port fuel injection (PFI) light-duty vehicles in California. For this project, two fuels, namely an E10 and E15, were tested on twenty 2016 and newer modern gasoline fueled vehicles over triplicate FTP cycles. Measurements included regulated emissions, fuel economy, PM mass, particle number, black carbon, and emissions of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene isomers, 1,3-butadiene, ethanol, and carbonyl compounds.

The post Comparison of Exhaust Emissions Between E10 and Splash Blended E15 appeared first on Growth Energy.

The impact of the removal of the waiver would be beneficial to air quality, as emissions of carbon monoxide (CO), oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) would be reduced. In addition, if the elimination of the 1-psi waiver leads to the replacement of E10 with E15, it will also decrease greenhouse gases and particulate emissions.

The results showed that eliminating the 1-psi RVP waiver for E10 would result in reductions of CO, NOx, and VOC emissions from the on-road light-duty vehicle fleet. As these pollutants are known precursors to ozone formation, eliminating the 1-psi RVP waiver for E10 would result in improved air quality and reduced ozone. By facilitating greater consumption of E15, the removal of the 1-psi waiver for E10 would also reduce lifecycle GHG emissions.

The post Emissions Impacts of the Elimination of the 1-psi RVP Waiver for E10 appeared first on Growth Energy.