Driving Ethanol Demand

Emily Skor, CEO, Growth Energy

At the Council’s March meeting, Emily Skor, CEO of Growth Energy, presented a buoyant outlook for her industry.  Despite the myriad challenges brought on by COVID-19, 2020 was a good year for ethanol.  She noted that retail growth for E-15 expanded with the number of retail sites selling E15 increasing 10%. Now more than 2,300 stations across 30 states are making E15 available to consumers. She described this boom as not just “a road to recovery, but the expressway to growth.” 

Currently Growth Energy is working with a list of leading retailers – including Casey’s, Cumberland Farms, Family Express, Holiday, Kum&Go, Kwik Trip, Minnoco, Murphy USA, Protec Fuel, QuikTrip, RaceTrac, Royal Farms, Rutters, Sheetz and Thorntons – to give more drivers access to cleaner burning, high octane E15 throughout the U.S. 

On March 9, 2021, two days before Skor addressed Council members (March 11), Growth Energy announced that American drivers across the nation reached a major milestone, logging 20 billion miles on the road since E15 blends were approved.  “In an unprecedented year,” Skor said, “hitting this milestone is a huge testament to the benefits E15 offers drivers who use it and retailers who sell it.”  Opening new markets is at the heart of Growth Energy’s mission, she added, further explaining that it expects to grow demand through effective policy solutions, accelerated market choice and access, as well as enhancement of global confidence in ethanol. 

To expedite this strategy, Skor explained that Growth Energy would continue to work with the top 20 retail chains; target additional efforts toward the top five markets; position E15 as the primary fuel product to replace E10; enhanceits relationship with terminals already offering E15.  Growth Energy also intends to influence and advance USDA’s Higher Blends Infrastructure Incentive Program (HBIIP).

The Kansas City Metro Area, including surrounding towns and counties in both Kansas and Missouri, already has a sizeable E15 footprint, Skor pointed out. And as coincidence would have it, the day after her Council presentation the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on March 12 that it was allowing E15 fuels to be sold year-round in the region.

“This announcement is a big step for the Kansas City metro area and a continuation of the hard work being done there to improve air quality and address environmental issues,” said Skor in a release. “Allowing the year-round sale of E15 will help strengthen these clean energy efforts and give more Kansas Citians access to cleaner, more affordable fuel options. A recent report found that nationwide, switching from E10 to E15 would reduce greenhouse emissions by almost 20 million tons per year. Ethanol environmental benefits are tangible and will help continue Kansas City’s efforts to protect human health and contribute to our country’s overall efforts to decarbonize the transportation system.”