Now that the EPA has promised that at least 15 billion gallons of ethanol will be blended into a total gasoline pool of about 142.4 billion gallons, the trick is how to expand sales of higher blends of ethanol.   EIA is forecasting total gasoline consumption in 2020 to increase about 160 million gallons over 2019 but drop by 270 million gallons in 2021 from 2020 projected levels. Holding ethanol steady at 15 billion gallons means the minimum use of ethanol will exceed 10.6 percent. Technically, any blend above 10.5 percent constitutes E15.

At the recent Iowa Renewable Fuels Association annual meeting it was noted that “if the Trump Administration follows through, then 2020 will be the first year where the RFS was fully i...