Tag: Lincoln, Nebraska

John Yang: In the heart of corn country, President Trump made good on a campaign pledge to farmers. Ethanol is a biofuel made from corn. Also against the move, oil companies. The Trump administration's EPA has waived some rules requiring ethanol's use in gas at the behest of oil producers. Grant Gerlock: Well, corn prices have been down in the dumps for a few years now. John Yang: And explain to us why E15, why these higher ethanol blends were banned in the summer months. That's one reason E15 wasn't allowed to be sold during that time of the year. But the trick, especially when you talk to ethanol — ethanol groups about this, is that during those summer months, when you can't buy E15, you could still buy E10, the 10 percent blend of ethanol, which has about the same impact on ozone and those smog issues. Grant Gerlock: Well, one thing they argue is that ethanol was supposed to be the lower-carbon fuel. And that's 5 percent of ethanol that you're using, instead of gasoline made from oil.