ANKENY, Iowa — Casey’s General Stores, Inc. has announced it will be selling higher ethanol blends of E15 and E85 at 17 sites in Illinois, Iowa and Kansas.
"We like the potential that E15 and E85 could bring to Casey’s, and are excited to provide our customers with a wide variety of fueling options,” said Terry Handley, president and CEO.
Headquartered in Ankeny, Casey’s joins Family Express, Kum & Go, MAPCO, Minnoco, Murphy USA, Protec Fuels, Sheetz and Thorntons in offering customers expanded fuel choices at the pump. It follows other recent rollouts by QuikTrip of Tulsa, Okla., which debuted E15 in March and Atlanta-based Race-Trac, which added it in October 2016.
E15 is a fuel made of 15 percent ethanol and 85 percent petroleum and is U.S. EPA-approved for all 2001 and newer vehicles. E85 fuel is made with at least 70 percent ethanol and is approved for flex-fuel vehicles. Casey’s first location will be in Pella, Iowa, making it the 103rd store to offer E15 in Iowa – and one of seven to open pumps across the state. Lucy Norton, Iowa Renewable Fuels Assoc. (IRFA) managing director, said the opening marks a big milestone for E15.
“Casey’s is more than just one of Iowa’s largest fuel retailers,” she said. “It’s our pizzeria, our grocery store, our coffee shop. And soon residents in several cities will have lower-cost fuel options that also support rural economies. We are confident Casey’s and its customers will have a positive experience with these fuels, and soon E15 and E85 will be the new normal for Casey’s stores.”
Larry Klever, Iowa Corn Promotion Board (ICPB) president, said the announcement is great news for rural Iowa. “Iowa’s corn farmers are excited to support Casey’s in expanding Iowans choices at the pump and providing consumers clean-burning, high performing homegrown ethanol blends.”
The ICPB – along with Growth Energy in Washington, D.C. – is providing support for Casey’s new program. Emily Skor, Growth Energy CEO, said the company commended Casey’s initiative in expanding its fuel offering to include clean-burning, high-octane and more affordable biofuel choices.
“Each day more and more retailers are embracing higher ethanol blends because today’s 21st century drivers demand 21st century fuel,” she said. “E15, in particular, offers drivers an exceptional value in addition to tested higher performance and reduced emissions.”
Casey’s boasts more than 1,950 convenience stores across 15 states, making it the nation’s fourth-largest, and its adoption of higher biofuel blends marks a major milestone for renewable fuel availability. As of May 2016, there were 3,456 U.S. stations offering E85 blends, with the number selling it having increased by 34 percent from 2010 to 2015.
In 2011, the EPA approved the use of E15 in all light- and medium-duty vehicles of model year 2001 or newer, as well as flex-fuel. This approved group of vehicles consists of more than 80 percent surface motor vehicles on the road today. E85 can only be used in flex-fuels, which comprise roughly 8 percent of all vehicles on the road today, according to the Renewable Fuel Assoc.
“Growth in E15 has been slow, as there are so many regulation bottlenecks,” said Sampath Jayasinghe, senior research analyst at Decision Innovation Solutions in Urbandale, Iowa, and Dave Miller, Iowa Farm Bureau Federation director of research and commodity services, in a recent joint report. “However, interest in E15 is increasing. We looked at the data on E15 and E85 availability in the state of Iowa.”
To date, there are 40 fueling stations selling E15 and 207 with E85 in Iowa, the IRFA said. “Future growth in ethanol demand will mainly depend on the development of a longterm policy framework driven to create innovative ethanol consumption programs, such as E15, mid-level blends and E85 blends,” the report stated. “Use of intermediate blends are needed to increase the amount of ethanol consumption in the domestic fuel market to meet the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS).”
Jim Raben, Illinois Corn Marketing Board chair, said the ICMB has been working for years to get higher ethanol blends available across Illinois, “and things are really coming together with this opportunity with Casey’s General Stores. This is a brand that is highly recognizable in rural and more populated areas, and will go a long way to enhancing visibility for ethanol choices at the pump.”
Other Illinois retailers have worked with the ICMB and the Illinois Renewable Fuels Assoc. to add expanded ethanol fueling options, including Qik-n-EZ, Speedway, Thorntons, Citgo, Power Energy Corp. and some FS FastStops.
