The average content of ethanol finished motor gasoline totaled 10.04% in 2016, topping the so-called “blend-wall” for the first time ever, according to a report from the Renewable Fuels Association that cited data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
RFA explained that “growing consumption of E15 (gasoline blends containing 15% ethanol), mid-level blends (containing 20-50% ethanol) and flex fuels (containing 51-83% ethanol) was responsible for the increase in the average ethanol content of U.S. gasoline in 2016.”
It goes on to explain that data from the American Petroleum Institute and the Environmental Protection Agency leads it to believe that “consumption of mid-level blends and flex fuels was no less than 450 million gallons and as much as 1.7 billion gallons in 2016.”
RFA says that this data demonstrates “that the supposed ‘blend wall’ is not a real constraint on ethanol consumption in the United States.” It continues that the data underscores that “statutory Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) blending obligations in excess of the 10.0% level can be readily satisfied by the marketplace.
