The push for year-round E15 access seems to have hit yet another roadblock in Washington, D.C. Despite appearances, Nebraska Congressman Adrian Smith said there’s still momentum toward getting year-round E15 across the finish line.
“There’s been some impasse on more than one front, but the fact of the matter is, I think we continue to make progress. I wanted to get it across the finish line this week. We’ve come so close in the past as well, but I really believe we are building support, and we’re growing with that. That is something that’s clear. The speaker has sent a message. Really appreciate Secretary Rollins and her statements as well. And you know, the movement is growing. We want to take this momentum and channel it in a productive direction. I think this new Energy Council will help us with that, as discussions take place with refiners and really get folks on board. All sorts of my colleagues tell me they support E15. They have some reservations about maybe some other details, but let’s use that momentum in the right direction and get this done.”
He talked about the Rural Domestic Energy Council.
“It was formed because of this impasse involving medium-sized refiners. Obviously, refiners are an important part of the mix. We know that liquid fuels, overall, that dynamic has been bringing folks together between oil and ethanol, for example, biofuels in general. And so, the attacks on liquid fuels overall, from some, are bringing stakeholders together. This actually, I think, helps us in moving forward, realizing that what we do is really about consumers, certainly producers. Whether it’s corn growers or ethanol production itself, we have, I think, a great opportunity to help consumers, and that is important.”
Smith talked about the roadblocks they have to face when bringing up year-round E15.
“Well, when you look at the details of the size of refiners, and how you measure that, how you define what is a small refiner, and what isn’t. We have to get those details worked out in a way that brings more votes. And obviously, the coalition we want to be big enough to get all the votes we need, and we have to continue working to gather those votes. But again, I’m grateful that E15, all by itself, says a clean E15 issue has a lot of support. There are these other details that folks want to get worked out as well, and we have to do that in order to get this across the finish line.”