World events spark need for ethanol

If only one-third of the fuel dispensers in our country were converted to market E-15 it would displace 100% of the oil that we import from Russia.

Currently there is a disputed, antiquated regulatory roadblock that prevents E15 use during the summer driving season. These are obviously the months of the highest consumption and pricing of gasoline. EPA has the authority to grant an emergency declaration to allow E-15 to be marketed through the summer months.

I joined 18 other state corn association presidents last week in sending a letter to the White House asking for the EPA to recognize the 70- to 80-cents per gallon discount in ethanol pricing compared to gasoline. We requested an immediate emergency rule to save consumers money during the high traffic summer travel months by allowing retailers to sell higher blends of ethanol year-round. This creates more liquid fuel in the marketplace and increases competition with petroleum-based fuels for space in the fuel tank.

These measures obviously would translate into lower prices at the pump. A permanent fix to this problem is contained in the Next Generation Fuels Act, which is a top priority for the Kentucky Corn Growers Association.

It was introduced in the U.S. House, with bill number H.R. 5089. Currently, it has 23 co-sponsors and is a widely bipartisan measure that outlines a process to utilize ethanol’s high octane value and lower carbon benefits to broaden our liquid fuel portfolio. Gallon for gallon, based on a very long-term history of energy prices, ethanol is much less expensive than gasoline.

Encouraging more competition from introducing more ethanol into the market will bring costs down in the liquid fuel sector.

The bill has been referred to the House Energy and Commerce Committee. We applaud Congressman James Comer, R-Ky., for being an original co-sponsor — but he is the only co-sponsor from Kentucky for this policy that holds incredible potential for American consumers.

A very diverse group of stakeholders contributed to authoring H.R. 5089, including General Motors, United Auto Workers, John Deere, CASE and New Holland. They all know that it has immense potential to enable automobile and equipment manufacturers to continue to produce the internal combustion engine instead of being forced into electric to meet emissions requirements.

The Next Generation Fuels Act contains solutions to needless and outdated regulations that only serve to protect market share for petroleum at the expense of consumer choice.

In whatever ways you can, I would ask you to please encourage the Biden Administration to grant an emergency waiver for E-15 to be sold in the summer months for 2022. I would also ask that you encourage your congressman to co-sponsor H.R. 5089 to permanently solve this problem.

Joseph Sisk, who farms in Hopkinsville, is president of the Kentucky Corn Growers Association.