Biden to encourage greater use of ‘homegrown’ biofuels to cut fuel prices

The US government is to introduce new initiatives to encourage greater use of “homegrown biofuels” in a bid to reduce prices at the pumps for Americans.

US president Joe Biden is on Tuesday expected to announce that fuel that uses a 15 percent ethanol blend -known technically as E15 gasoline - will be permitted to be sold this summer.

The Biden administration is also planning measures to encourage “sustainable aviation with a focus on low-carbon fuels that will create economic opportunity for agricultural communities”. This includes funding of up to $4.3 billion to support sustainable aviation fuel projects and fuel producers. It is also looking at expanding the use of canola oil.

The Biden administration is planning to put in place an emergency waiver to get around existing rules that do not allow E15 to be used in most of the country from June 1st to September 15th each year.

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Summer ban

A summertime ban on using E15 had been imposed over concerns that it contributes to smog in hot weather.

The White House said E15 was currently offered at 2,300 fuel stations in the country and that it could serve "as an important - and more affordable - source of fuel".

“An emergency waiver can help increase fuel supplies, give consumers more choice to get lower prices, and provide savings to many families. At current prices, E15 can save a family 10 cents per gallon of gas on average, and many stores sell E15 at an even greater discount.

“ For working families - families eager to travel and visit their loved ones - that will add up to real savings. Allowing higher levels of blending will also reduce our dependency on foreign fuels as we rely more heavily on home-grown biofuels. This will help us bridge towards real energy independence.”

The rising cost of fuel, which has been made worse by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, is a major political issue in the United States ahead of crucial mid-term elections in November.

Polls suggest that president Biden's democratic party could lose control of one or both houses of Congress.

In a bid to generate increased fuel supplies and lower costs for motorists and other users, the president has already released more than one million barrels per day from petroleum reserves. He has also urged the introduction of a “use it or lose it” policy to make oil companies pay fees on wells from their leases that they had not used in years and on acres of public lands that were not in production.

The Biden administration is also planning funding for biofuel producers, $5.6 million in grants aimed at significantly increasing the sales and use of higher blends of ethanol and biodiesel as well as a €100 million allocation for biofuel infrastructure.