To increase demand for ethanol-enhanced gasoline, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ended seasonal restrictions on the sale of higher ethanol blends in mid-2019. While that move made E15 available year-round, getting E15 into retail pumps for consumers isn’t simple.
“The steps necessary to sell E15 at a retail location are complex and costly,” says Akhtar Hussain, director of CHS refined fuels marketing. One major hurdle was the requirement for retailers to have an EPA-approved misfuelling mitigation plan, which prevents consumers from using E15 for unauthorized purposes.
To help clear that hurdle and make ethanol-enhanced gas more available, CHS became the only refiner with a mitigation plan that covers its entire retail fuels network, including 1,450 Cenex® brand retail locations.
“Having a networkwide plan alleviates the need for independent Cenex retailers to perform the task on their own,” says Hussain. “That removes a significant barrier for Cenex retailers, gets E15 into consumers’ gas tanks more easily and helps grow demand for ethanol.”
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