You’re WAY over thinking it.  Ethanol blended gasoline is a superior product which is growing.. if that were not the case.. We would not have set a new blend rate record.

https://ethanolrfa.org/media-and-news/category/news-releases/article/2026/01/u-s-ethanol-blend-rate-tops-11-in-october-as-e15-expansion-continues

Let the retailers figure it out.  There is ample evidence that some.. like Jumpstart.. are figuring out how to market it.. they are growing.  Those who don’t want it.. leaves more for everyone else.

Let the markets sort it out.. but the government must ease the regulations which will allow the markets to work.

Ethanol accounted for 11.06 percent of the nation’s gasoline in October, marking the first time in history that the monthly ethanol “blend rate” has topped 11 percent, according to newly released data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

The Renewable Fuels Association said the record-high blend rate reflects the expanding use of E15 and flex fuels like E85, and should put to rest—once and for all—the myth that a so-called “blend wall” prevents ethanol from making up more than 10 percent of the gasoline pool.

The 12-month average blend rate, which reflects longer-term trends, also hit a record of 10.48 percent in October. Expanding availability of E15 appears to be the driving factor in the blend rate increase, according to RFA. In Iowa, for example, E15 accounted for roughly 25 percent of total gasoline sales in November, virtually doubling since the start of 2025. And with E15’s legal approval in California in October, RFA is working with retailers in that state to make the more affordable blend available to Golden State drivers as soon as possible.

“The new data from EIA and the Iowa Department of Revenue provide clear evidence that ethanol is continuing to gain market share in the U.S. fuel market as American drivers increasingly choose lower-cost, cleaner-burning E15 and flex fuels like E85,” said RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper. “The numbers also prove that the fictitious ‘blend wall’ is nothing but an imaginary barrier created by those who oppose American-made renewable fuels produced from American-grown crops.”

Cooper noted that expanding sales of E15 in 2025 were facilitated, in part, by the Trump Administration’s timely issuance of emergency fuel waivers allowing E15 sales to continue throughout the summer months. However, the emergency waivers are a “band-aid fix,” he said. “To truly unleash lower-cost E15 in the marketplace, we need Congress to pass legislation that permanently removes the decades-old regulatory red tape that prevents most retailers from offering E15 to their customers during the busy summer driving season. Passing year-round E15 legislation would not only continue to build on the progress we saw in 2025, but it would also open a badly needed new market opportunity for our nation’s farmers.” 

 

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