The EPA has allowed E15 blends to be used in 2001 and later passenger cars, passenger trucks, and light commercial trucks. Ethanol generates less greenhouse gases (GHG) on a lifecycle basis than gasoline. The purpose of this report is to estimate nationwide GHG benefits of an expansion of ethanol use from E10 (i.e., 10% volume ethanol) to E15.
Based on our analysis, we estimate that if the United States transitioned from E10 to E15 in the nation for 2001 and later model year vehicles, GHG emissions would be lower by 17.62 million tons per year, which is the equivalent of removing approximately 3.85 million vehicles from the road.