In mid-January, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a 2026 appropriations package that did not include language allowing for permanent, year-round E15 nationwide. Instead, lawmakers established a new E15 Rural Domestic Energy Council and tasked it with developing legislative solutions to “address the crisis facing our nation's farmers and refiners."
The move was a disappointment to the Minnesota Corn Growers Association (MCGA), which for months had advocated for the inclusion of an E15 legislative solution as part of the appropriations package. As MCGA has noted for years, ensuring permanent year-round E15 is one of the most meaningful steps Congress could take to bolster family corn farms and rural economies. Such action would be especially significant now, as corn farmers face the most dire economic conditions they’ve seen this century.
Still, MCGA remains committed to securing an E15 legislative fix in the coming months. Notably, we were pleased that the package requires new council to submit legislative recommendations to Congress by Feb. 15 and for Congress to consider E15 legislation by Feb. 25. While not an excuse for inaction, those immediate deadlines set the stage for meaningful movement on E15 language.
“MCGA has been closely monitoring the council as it charts a course for action on year-round E15,” MCGA President Wes Beck said in a statement. “We’re grateful to our many grassroots farmer-members who responded to calls for action on E15 over the past few months. And, we appreciate the advocacy of our congressional champions, including Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith and Representatives Angie Craig, Tom Emmer, Brad Finstad, and Michelle Fischbach, on this important issue.”
About E15
E15 is a biofuel blend containing up to 15% ethanol by volume. Typically marketed at the pump as Unleaded 88—a nod to its 88 octane rating— the fuel is approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for use in cars, trucks, and SUVs 2001 and newer.
First offered for sale in Minnesota in 2013, E15 saves consumers money at the pump while reducing emissions compared to regular unleaded. Currently, it can be found at more than 550 Minnesota fuel stations. The latest state data shows that, on average, E15 costs 13 cents less per gallon than regular unleaded—though many fuel stations have even bigger price spreads.
Unfortunately, an outdated federal law currently bans the sale of E15 in most of the U.S. during the summer months. (The fuel can be sold during the summer in Minnesota and six other midwestern states.) The summertime restriction has nothing to do with the safety or quality of E15 as a fuel; it’s simply a relic of Clean Air Act provisions that were enacted in 1990, which was over two decades before E15 was even available to consumers.
You can learn more about E15 and find a station offering the fuel near you at mnfuels.com.
Read the full Corn Talk Winter Edition here.
