Picture caption: (from left to right) Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Thom Peterson, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, Harold Wolle, president of the National Corn Growers Association, Brian Werner, executive director at the Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association, and Jeanne McCaherty, CEO of Guardian Energy.

Burnsville, Oct 18 - Sen. Amy Klobuchar toured Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association Producer Member, Guardian Energy, in Janesville on Oct 14 to reiterate her support for Minnesota’s ethanol industry and discuss her work to lift outdated restrictions on the summertime sale of E15. 

“It was good to be in Janesville at the Guardian Energy ethanol plant to discuss the importance of renewable fuels with Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association Executive Director Brian Werner, Guardian Energy CEO Jeanne McCaherty, National Corn Growers Association President Harold Wolle, and Minnesota Department of Agriculture Commissioner Thom Peterson,” she said.

During the plant tour, the participants acknowledged and thanked Klobuchar for her leadership on bills to strengthen Minnesota’s ethanol industry such as the Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act, the Flex-Fuel Fairness Act, the Next Generation Fuels Act and the Adopt GREET Act. Ben Stover, plant manager at Guardian Energy, conducted the plant tour.

“Sen. Klobuchar has been a consistent champion of the ethanol industry in Minnesota, and we appreciate that she recently visited our member plant, Guardian Energy, to see first-hand the low-carbon ethanol and high-protein animal feed that it produces every day,” Werner said. 

Among the issues raised to Klobuchar during her visit included uncertainty over a permanent summertime waiver for E15 and the adverse consequences for a potential summertime ban on E15 in 2024. 

“The current issue before us is year-round access to E15, also known as Unleaded 88. I am confident that she and our champions in Congress will be successful in getting this law changed and implemented,” Wolle said.

In 2022 and 2023, the EPA issued emergency waivers to allow the sale of E15 during the summer months but a permanent solution is required to ensure access to E15 is uninterrupted from 2024 onwards. 

“Biofuels have the potential to transform our energy sector, strengthen our economy and national security, and revitalize rural America. I am committed to working alongside leaders like the Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association to establish year-round E15 and make sure biofuels are a part of our energy solution,” Klobuchar said. 

Among the potential solutions include legislative action in Congress to extend a 1-PSI reid vapor pressure (RVP) waiver for E15. 

“As consumers increasingly seek out and fill-up with lower cost E15 at the pump, we thank Sen. Klobuchar for her bipartisan work to ensure that outdated and obsolete restrictions on summertime E15 sales are lifted once and for all,” Werner said. 

E15 sales in Minnesota hit a new record in August with 10.22 million gallons sold. In total, 77.07 million gallons have been sold in Minnesota from January to August this year, 15.13 percent higher than the 66.94 million gallons recorded over the same period in 2022. 

Picture caption: (from left to right) Peterson, Wolle, Werner, Klobuchar, McCaherty and Ben Stover, plant manager at Guardian Energy.