ANKENY, Iowa -- Casey’s General Stores Inc. has added E15 and E85 gasoline blends to more than a dozen sites in three states.
The chain is introducing E15, a 15% ethanol blend, and E85, an 85% blend, to 17 locations in Illinois, Iowa and Kansas. It follows other recent rollouts by QuikTrip, Tulsa, Okla., which debuted E15 this past March, and Atlanta-based RaceTrac, which added it in October 2016.
Ethanol industry group Growth Energy helped Casey’s with the new fuel offer, along with the Illinois Corn Marketing Board, Iowa Corn Promotion Board and Kansas Corn Commission.
“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 of Casey’s, in a statement. “We appreciate the assistance Growth Energy and the farmers funding the corn checkoff in Illinois, Iowa and Kansas have invested in our E15 and E85 program.”
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved E15 for use in vehicle models 2001 and newer, while only flex-fuel vehicles can use E85.
“We commend Casey’s initiative in expanding their fuel offering to include clean-burning, high-octane and more affordable biofuel choices,” said Emily Skor, CEO of Growth Energy, Washington, D.C. “Each day more and more retailers are embracing higher ethanol blends because today’s 21st-century drivers demand 21st-century fuel. E15, in particular, offers drivers an exceptional value in addition to tested higher performance and reduced emissions.”
Casey’s joins fellow Iowa-based chain Kum & Go along with Family Express, MAPCO, Minnoco, Murphy USA, Protec Fuels, QuikTrip, RaceTrac, Sheetz and Thorntons in adding E15. Today, E15 is sold at more than 670 sites in 29 states, according to Growth Energy, marking a 200% increase in site count in two years.
Ankeny, Iowa-based Casey's General Stores owns and operates more than 1,950 convenience stores in 15 states. As the fourth-largest c-store chain in the country, Casey's is the largest chain to offer the higher ethanol blends, according to ethanol industry group Growth Energy.
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