BY DAVID PITT ASSOCIATED PRESS JUNE 3, 2022 4:55 PM PT
DES MOINES — The Biden administration on Friday set new requirements that increase the amount of ethanol that must be blended into the nation’s gasoline supply but also retroactively reduced previous ethanol-blending requirements due to a plunge in fuel demand during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Environmental Protection Agency said it would set the 2022 levels for corn-based ethanol blended into gasoline at 15 billion gallons.
But even as the new rules increased future ethanol requirements, the EPA retroactively reduced levels for 2020 by 2.5 billion gallons and for 2021 by 1.2 billion gallons, reflecting the lower amount of ethanol produced and the decreased sales of gasoline during a period when the coronavirus led to a drop in driving.
How much ethanol is in gasoline, and how does it affect fuel economy?
Most gasoline sold in the U.S. contains 10% ethanol, and the fuel has become a key part of the economy in many Midwestern states. The fuel consumes more than 40% of the nation’s corn supply, and ethanol and other biofuel production plants offer jobs in rural areas that have seen steady population declines over the decades.
President Biden is among many politicians from both parties who have frequently promised to support increases in the renewable fuel standard.
