MIDLAND, Texas — With the rise in gas prices, the White House is trying to come up with ways to lower prices at the pump. One option that President Joe Biden is moving forward with is allowing the EPA to grant a waiver on the summer ethanol ban.
Ethanol comes from plants like corn, so its biggest advantage is price. Most of the gasoline consumers buy is 10% percent ethanol. The E15 blend has slightly more ethanol, at 15%.
Experts say that E15 could be anywhere from $0.10 a gallon cheaper or more than regular gas depending on the gas station. However, selling that type of gas during the summer months is typically banned because of air quality concerns, as it creates more smog.
While the price decrease would be a little welcome relief, many people may not even have the option to purchase the E15 blend.
"Well $0.10 isn’t very significant overall, but you have to go even farther into the analysis that not all gas stations sell E15," Mickey Cargile, president of Cargile Investment Management said. "There’s only 2,300 gas stations in the nation that sell E15, so the odds of you being able to buy the cheaper gasoline are relatively low."
This also isn't the first time that a president has tried authorizing this blend of ethanol. Former President Donald Trump had a mandate for this before the courts struck it down.
"It is the president doing something that will help some people for $0.10 per gallon," Cargile said. "It's just for this summer, so it's not a long-ranging change of strategy, but if you recall, President Trump also had a mandate for this and the court struck it down."
Cargile said that he believes this will help people continue to purchase gasoline, but that the president should also focus on other options to lower prices at the pump.
"By keeping the price lower, the president is actually incenting people to continue consuming," Cargile said. "It’s my opinion he should be talking conservation to reduce the consumption of oil and gas during this period of shortage, and that would have more long-term impact on bringing the price down."