Later this morning, the American Petroleum Institute (API) will host a press call designed to outline their concerns about E15. Some of these concerns are legitimate but many will be manufactured in order to scare consumers away from more ethanol use (please see the RFA letter to the Joint Economic Committee yesterday: http://bit.ly/Ix3p1J).

Where legitimate concerns exists, such as misfueling concerns created by the partial nature of the E15 waiver, the Renewable Fuels Association has worked in good faith with all stakeholders to address these issues. The RFA has created a website dedicated to E15 information (www.E15fuel.org), a misfueling mitigation plan to help retailers avoid confusion, and an E15 Retailer Handbook for gas station owners seeking to offer E15. All of this information can be found at http://chooseethanol.com/ and http://www.ethanolrfa.org/.

In advance of the call, here are a few key points to keep in mind:

• E15 is the most exhaustively tested fuel approved by EPA. Testing on E15 was the equivalent of taking 12 round trips to the moon – 6 million miles.
• E15 is not a mandate. It simply gives fuel suppliers the option of blending up to 15 percent ethanol per gallon for sale to the EPA-approved vehicle population.
• EPA has provided a clear labeling program to inform consumers and the RFA is helping businesses comply through its Misfueling Mitigation Plan.
• At today's prices, E15 would offer consumers a significant savings over the price of regular gasoline. At wholesale, ethanol is approximately $1.00 cheaper per gallon than gasoline
• Ethanol provides refiners with extra octane, allowing them to produce a poorer quality fuel – called sub-octane – to be blended with ethanol to meet the 87 octane minimum required at the pump.
• A recent poll from American Viewpoint found that 75% of Americans want greater choice when they pull up to the pump – and that includes ethanol
• That same poll found 58% of Americans would use more domestic ethanol where available – which would explain the oil industry desire to scare consumers and preserve market share.
• The RFA has joined with petroleum interests to support legislation to help open the market to new fuels called the Domestic Fuels Protection Act.

"The nation didn't have the infrastructure in place for a transcontinental railroad, but that didn't stop us from moving forward because it was in the best interest of the nation," said Matt Hartwig, RFA Chief Spokesperson.  "The same is true with America's fueling infrastructure. Becomes some upgrades may be needed is no reason to accept the status quo as the best we can do.  As my mother has long told me, Can't never did anything.  Instead of pointing out what some perceive as the problems, we should all be working together to find the solutions that further reduce America's vulnerabilities when it comes to our oil dependence.  E15, higher ethanol blends, and other alternative fuel options coming down the pike are those solutions."