A new study released this week from the USDA shows that greenhouse gas emissions from corn-based ethanol are 39 percent lower than regular gasoline. The study also shows that when ethanol is refined at natural gas-powered refineries, the greenhouse gas emissions are even lower, coming in at 43 percent less than gasoline. Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue says the new findings provide even further evidence that biofuels from America’s heartland reduce greenhouse gases even more than first thought.
“It also shows our farmers and ethanol plants continue to become more efficient and effective,” Perdue says. “Expanding the sale of E-15 year-round will provide consumers with more choices when they fill up at the pump, including environmentally friendly fuel with decreased emissions.”
Perdue also says he appreciates Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler moving quickly to finalize the E-15 rule before the start of the summer driving season. The study was published in the trade journal Biofuels and it supports findings of other research that ethanol has a significantly better greenhouse gas profile than previously thought.