Gov. Dayton Signs E15 Dispenser Bill ; Law Goes Into Effect July 1

  • Tuesday, 23 June 2015 00:00

The E15 Dispenser bill, which was signed into law by Gov. Mark Dayton, goes into effect July 1 and will help up to 100 fuel retailers in the state make minor modifications to offer E15.

The bill, part of the Omnibus Agriculture and Environment bill, was passed by the legislature at the recent Special Legislative Sessions and signed into law by Dayton on June 13.

The Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association played a key role in getting the E15 Dispenser Bill included in the Agriculture and Environment bill and generated support for it from members of the Minnesota Senate and House of Representatives.

Under the bill, $500,000 in grants will be disbursed over a two-year period to help fuel retailers make simple upgrades to their fuel dispensers so that they can offer E15.

These upgrades include simple calibrations, meters, valve assembles, seals, hanging hardware and in some limited cases, a new dispenser.

The grants were included in the Agriculture and Environment bill as legislators sought ways to meet the state’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction goals as well as fulfill state law that requires more biofuel be used to displace finite, carbon intensive petroleum.

Under Minn. Stat 216H.02, the state has set a goal to reduce GHG emissions to 30 percent below 2005 levels by 2025. E15 produces fewer GHG emissions and in a recent analysis by the University of Illinois concludes that if all gasoline consumed in Minnesota was E15, annual CO2 savings would amount to 358,000 metric tons.

This in turn is the equivalent of removing 75,368 cars from the road.

Meanwhile, Minn. Stat 239.7911 has set incremental increases for biofuel usage in spark ignition engines over the next 10 years. For 2017, the law requires the volume of biofuels in transportation fuel to be 18 percent. As such, increasing the availability of E15 would play a significant role in achieving that goal.

Just as important, the E15 Dispenser bill has the potential of saving Minnesotans $6.72 million at the pump annually as E15 is generally priced 10 cents cheaper than regular unleaded.

Demand for E15 has grown this year. In the first four months of the year, E15 sales have totaled 692,708 gallons, more than double the amount sold in 2014 (257,855 gallons). There are currently 18 stations that offer E15 in the state.