EPA To Further Delay Ethanol Blending Decision

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will further delay a decision concerning higher ethanol blending rates in motor fuels, according to Reuters.

EPA is considering raising the upper limit for blending ethanol with standard gasoline from 10% to 15% to give greater support to the biofuels industry. In December 2009, the agency said it expected to complete vehicle testing and make a decision by June. The agency updated their deadline saying, testing is not yet complete and a decision will not be announced until September.

The EPA said that initial tests “look good” and should be completed by the end of September. A decision will come after the Energy Department completes the testing of the higher blend on vehicles built after 2007.

The EPA has indicated in the past that it will raise the blend, saying a congressional mandate for increased ethanol use can’t be achieved without allowing higher blends of the renewable fuel, most of which comes from corn. Congress has required refiners to blend 12.9 billion gallons (50 billion liters) of biofuels in 2010, of which 12 billion gallons would be ethanol. The mandate soars to 36 billion gallons (135 billion liters), mostly ethanol, by 2022.

Ethanol groups say the delay is harming the industry, which currently has a supply glut. As of now, one in three bushels of corn produced in the U.S. is used to produce ethanol.