ACE Responds to API E15 Infrastructure Concerns
Blames "big oil" for E15's poor adoption rate in U.S.
The Senior Vice President for the American Coalition for Ethanol, Ron Lamberty,
responded to recent concerns raised over the sale of E15 blends raised by the American Petroleum Institute (API).
“In an election year, I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised to see Big Oil “go negative” on E15,” said Lamberty. “But it is surprising to see them going after pumps and tanks, because most of that equipment has been tested – for decades - using at least 15% ethanol. Underwriters Laboratories (UL) listing for petroleum equipment requires that they pass dozens of tests using fuel that contains 15% ethanol and their listing for tanks and piping defines “alcohol-gasoline
mixtures” as any level of ethanol or methanol up to and including 100%.”
Lamberty, who owns and operates a Sioux Falls convenience store, added “The pumps I have at my station were manufactured by a company whose warranty included E15, and my tanks and lines are compatible with “gasoline ethanol blends. My biggest infrastructure problem with E15 is that the API-member oil company that supplies my station won’t let me sell it.”
“The EPA spent three years testing E15 before it was approved for public sale. The companies that manufacture petroleum storage and dispensing equipment have clearly outlined which equipment is compatible with E15. If people have concerns about ethanol and fuel handling equipment, we would prefer they get their information from the people that built it – not the people who continue to sling mud at ethanol and E15 in a thinly-disguised attempt to maintain their stranglehold on our fuel supply.” Lamberty said.
