E15 Implementation in California Not a Sure Thing: Industry Official

The long-awaited manifestation of E15 retail sites in California may not come to fruition if a current stalemate is not resolved, an industry official warned Wednesday.

“All the regulatory hurdles have been cleared for E15 through guidance from the relevant agencies with the notable exception of the Offices of the State Fire Marshall (OSFM),” Neil Koehler, a policy advisor with the Renewable Fuels Association, told OPIS.

Koehler was previously co-founder and co-CEO of Pacific Ethanol, now known as Alto Ingredients.

“If the current OSFM impasse is not resolved, there is a chance that E15 won’t be implemented.”

Koehler nevertheless indicated that he remains hopeful regarding the situation. “Given the overwhelmingly positive economic and environmental benefits of E15 and the lack of safety issues with E15, I am optimistic that saner minds will prevail,” he said.

The process could move quickly if the correct decision is made, according to Koehler.

“E15 could be implemented in a matter of weeks once the regulatory framework is in place,” he claimed.

California moved in October to permit usage of the fuel blend, with Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature on Assembly Bill 30 (AB30) ending its long-running status as the final state without access to the higher blend of ethanol. Koehler expressed annoyance with the process up to this point.

“OSFM is asserting that the vapor recovery equipment on the dispensing nozzles is not certified for E15, and millions of dollars of new and unnecessary testing and costly new equipment purchases will be required to certify for E15,” he said. “Unnecessary, because E15 was the test fuel for the E10 certifications, so there is no imaginable health or safety risk utilizing the existing equipment.”

Other than that dispute, Koehler indicated that there should be no other holdups.

“Marketers are ready to go,” he said. “Given today’s economics, E15 can materially reduce consumer prices, provided desperately needed new incremental fuel supply with the closure of refineries and the Iran war, while significantly reducing emissions relative to E10.

“The health and welfare of California citizens is being threatened by the lack of full implementation of AB30.”

Reporting by Michael Schneider, mschneider@opisnet.com; Editing by Jordan Godwin, jgodwin@opisnet.com