California board votes to allow E15 sales as ethanol holds near $2 a gallon
The California Air Resources Board voted September 24 to approve regulations that let retailers sell E15, the 15% ethanol blend, in a state that had kept it off the pumps. Growth Energy applauded the vote. The Renewable Fuels Association told CARB the same day to finalize the rules quickly so stations can start offering the lower-cost blend. For jobbers and c-store operators who sell into California, that adds a product line that was closed to them before.
Where E15 goes next
Iowa just set a monthly E15 sales record, according to the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association. Michigan has a bill moving that would allow year-round E15 sales. More states are clearing the blend for retail, which matters because summer volatility rules have long kept E15 off pumps for part of the year.
If you sell fuel, the question is tankage and blend economics, not politics. E15 only pays when the spread between ethanol and gasoline is wide enough to cover the switch.
Ethanol near $2
US ethanol prices are holding near $2.00 a gallon, and production slipped to a four-month low behind the Green Plains second-quarter update. Green Plains trades at $15.34, up 49.22% year to date. The longer record is weaker: the stock is still down 45.95% over three years and 56.18% over five.
Demand is the bright spot. US ethanol and DDGS exports keep climbing, and corn and soybean demand is staying strong on ethanol and crush activity. Tighter production into firm export demand could keep prices supported if that holds.
The Cuba seizure
ICE seized 90 biodiesel shipments worth more than $2.8 million that it says were headed to Cuba illegally. Customs and Border Protection flagged the cargo moving out of Port Everglades and the Port of Houston to Enetec S.A., a state-owned wholesaler in Havana, in early September. Cuba called the seizure piracy and plunder. Export controls on fuel are getting enforced at the dock here, not treated as a formality, and any seller touching international cargo should read their paperwork accordingly.
What to watch
When CARB finalizes the E15 rules, and how fast California stations actually start selling the blend. Whether Michigan's year-round bill passes. And whether ethanol can hold $2 with production down and exports up. A separate report from the Maersk Mc-Kinney Møller Center calling ethanol a "promising drop-in option for methanol-fueled vessels" is worth a glance as a longer-term demand story, nothing that moves your rack price this month.