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UL green-lights jump to 15 percent ethanol mix

By CELESTE BAUMGARTNER
Ohio Correspondent

MARION, Ohio — The Ohio Corn Growers Assoc. (OCGA) applauded the Underwriters Laboratories (UL) decision to allow higher ethanol blends in gasoline pumps, said Dwayne Siekman, OGCA executive director.

The UL, a privately owned and operated independent third-party product safety testing and certification organization, has issued a statement saying fuel blends can contain a maximum ethanol content of 15 percent, an increase from the current level of 10 percent.

“It’s been an ongoing process,” Siekman said. “When the UL did 10 percent ethanol blend testing years ago, they also tested up to 15 percent and said there was no problem whatsoever with the higher amount.”

This past October, the UL reversed that decision and said that only a maximum of 10 percent ethanol was approved. That shocked the ethanol industry, Siekman said.

Based on UL’s wording that 15 percent was the maximum allowed, the industry had worked with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to increase the blend rights at fuel pumps across the country.

“That (reversal) really set a lot of folks back,” Siekman said. “A lot of decisions in the ethanol industry were impacted.”

The OCGA, National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition and others, however, reached out to inform lawmakers, the DOE, the EPA and the Obama administration on how increased blends of ethanol are vital to the United States.

The decision to allow higher ethanol blends affects only gas pumps, Siekman said. Auto manufacturers do their own testing on engines. Increasing the blend to 15 percent should coincide with the work they are doing.

Now the EPA will have to make the decision to allow the increase to 15 percent.

“The industry will have to show that the science is there, that emissions will not be increased, that there will not be long-term detrimental damage to auto manufacturer engines,” Siekman said.

It could take three to 12 months before a change occurs, he said.
“The EPA has to grant a waiver to increase ethanol above 10 percent,” Siekman said. “Fifteen percent is just what UL has said is the maximum that could go into our pumps. The EPA could rule it could be 12 percent, it could be 13 percent, based on the science.”
There was speculation on the reason for the UL’s reversal of the decision in the fall, he said.

“With the technology and communication the way it is today, there were a lot of conspiracy theories out there,” Siekman said. “But I think we’ll take UL at their word that they wanted to make sure because the decision they made would have long-term ramifications for consumers.”

The UL said it wanted to go through a thorough process to determine that the language it had written years ago was consistent with today’s fuel pumps. The decision to approve the higher percentage blends is good for corn growers in Ohio who are selling grain to ethanol plants.

“They’re seeing an increase in their basis, anywhere from 20 to 35 cents above the Chicago Board price, which is significant,” Siekman said. “It will have a significant impact for Ohio growers to see higher blends in the fuel system.

“This decision opens door for EPA and auto manufacturers to say ‘yes’ to higher blends of ethanol, and then you’ll see a stronger market.”

3/11/2009