Growth Energy, the nation’s largest biofuels trade association, submitted testimony to the Ohio House of Representatives and its Ways and Means Committee voicing support for House Bill 324, which would provide a tax credit to incentivize fuel retailers to sell more bioethanol blends like E15 (made with 15% bioethanol) and E85 (made with 51-85% bioethanol).
“This credit is important as retailers in Ohio continue to build out the market and invest in additional infrastructure to install these ethanol blends,” said Growth Energy in its written testimony. “Ethanol blends such as E15 and E85 provide environmental benefits, boost Ohio’s farmers and biofuel producers, and give consumers more affordable choices at the pump.”
E15, sometimes branded Unleaded 88 (UNL88), is a fuel made of gasoline and 15% bioethanol. It’s approved for all cars model year 2001 and newer, which represents more than 95% of the vehicle miles traveled on the road today and more than nine out of 10 cars on the road. To date, consumers have now driven more than 90 billion miles on E15, and retailers have conducted millions of transactions with this fuel. Ohio currently has 144 retail locations selling E15, and 256 locations selling E85. The state is also home to seven biorefineries–five of which are Growth Energy members.
