Report shows E15 gasoline delivered significant savings compared with conventional E10 fuel.
A new analysis from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) indicates that E15 gasoline has recently been available at a substantially lower price than conventional E10 fuel.
According to the report, E15 averaged $0.47 less per gallon than E10, representing an 11.5% price difference. When fuel costs are evaluated based on energy content, E15 was also about 8% cheaper, suggesting that motorists could spend less for each mile driven when using E15.
The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) said the findings demonstrate how greater ethanol use, supported by the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) and its Renewable Identification Number (RIN) system, can help reduce fuel costs for consumers.
“While a handful of stubborn oil refining companies continue to suggest that the RFS somehow leads to higher prices at the pump, this new data from DOE proves that the exact opposite is true. After the Trump administration finalized the highest-ever RFS volumes back in March, the marketplace responded by expanding the supply of lower-cost E15," said RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper.
"As this report shows, American drivers who have access to E15 are saving real money with each fill-up, and those savings are being enabled by the RFS and RIN values. Undermining the RFS with small refinery exemptions, as is reportedly being considered, would reverse this progress and lead to higher prices at the pump. Granting massive SREs would do nothing at all to lower pump prices and, in fact, would have the opposite effect.”
The DOE report, issued in July, found that E15 averaged $3.62 per gallon in April, compared with $4.09 for E10. It also noted that regular gasoline prices increased by $1.20 per gallon, or 42%, from January through April amid global oil supply disruptions linked to the Strait of Hormuz.
The April figures marked the first time DOE’s quarterly report included E15 pricing data, providing new insight into the fuel’s retail market performance.
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