MN Bio-Fuels Urges Congress To Include Year-Round E15 In House Farm Bill

Burnsville, Apr 28 - As policymakers at the federal level continue to consider expanding access to E15, the Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association (MN Bio-Fuels) led a letter signed by over 30 state biofuel and agriculture organizations urging Congress to include a bipartisan amendment allowing year-round E15 in the House Farm Bill (H.R. 7567).

Legislative text agreed to by members of the E15 Rural Domestic Energy Council was introduced last week as an amendment to the House Farm Bill. The bipartisan amendment, which is being considered in the House Rules Committee this week, would permanently allow retail gas stations nationwide the option to sell E15 year-round. E15 is a gasoline-ethanol fuel blend with 15 percent ethanol that is often marketed as Unleaded 88 and has been approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for use in all passenger vehicles model year 2001 and newer.

In the letter submitted to members of Congress today, the group of biofuel and agriculture organizations wrote, "With a difficult farm economy, energy supply constraints, and high energy costs dominating the headlines, a ready-made solution in year-round E15 and a strengthened RFS (Renewable Fuel Standard) is now pending before you. We urge you to seize this opportunity by supporting the inclusion of amendment #289 to the House Farm Bill (H.R. 7567)."

The letter, which included the Minnesota Corn Growers Association and Minnesota AgriGrowth, also noted how the lack of legislative action on year-round E15 has led to emergency waivers from the EPA for the past five years under Republican and Democratic administrations alike.

In addition to year-round E15, the bipartisan amendment also provides commonsense reforms to the small refinery exemption (SRE) process under the Renewable Fuel Standard that would ensure consistency in the number of renewable fuel gallons exempted from blending requirements, tighten the number of refineries eligible for SREs and provide much-needed certainty for all fuel supply chain participants. Introduced by Rep. Michelle Fischbach (MN-7) and co-sponsored by Rep. Brad Finstad (MN-1), the amendment represents a compromise between renewable fuel producers, farmers, fuel marketers, and the vast majority of oil refiners.

"Our commitment to solving this longstanding issue includes many years of advocating with our state congressional delegations, testifying at hearings on the benefits of E15, working with our state Governors to opt-out of the E10 waiver, and negotiating in good faith with industries that often do not view renewable fuels favorably. We have undertaken these efforts because year-round E15 access is a critical component to providing enhanced agricultural market support to rural farm economies, creating jobs through rural economic development and biomanufacturing, reducing harmful emissions through the use of cleaner fuels, and helping blunt the impact of high energy costs on consumers in a more dangerous geopolitical world," the letter said.

E15 has consistently been priced lower than traditional gasoline. In the first two months of 2026, E15 was priced, on average, 19 cents per gallon less than regular 87 octane fuel in Minnesota, according to data from the Minnesota Department of Commerce. With 21.62 million gallons of E15 sold in January and February this year, this translated to savings of $4.1 million at the pump for Minnesotans. Minnesota currently has over 550 retailers offering E15.

Since 2013, E15 has saved Minnesota drivers $79.5 million at the pump, according to a recent study. By 2030, these savings are projected to rise to over $272 million, the same study said.

Read the full letter here.