DES MOINES, Iowa -- All but one of the 25 Republicans in the state Senate are pushing a plan that would establish a 10-cent-per-gallon state tax break for E-85 gasoline-ethanol blend, reported Radio Iowa (see related story in this issue of CSP Daily News).
State Senator David Johnson (R) said a tax break should make the fuel more attractive to consumers.
Under the Republican plan, gas stations also could get up to $25,000 state grants to install or convert tanks for dispensing E-85. "We are a leader in [ethanol] production. Now [image-nocss] we need to be a leader in the marketplace," Johnson told the news outlet.
But Republican gubernatorial candidate Jim Nussle and some Democrats in the legislature have suggested a mandate that all gasoline sold in Iowa must be at least 10%, the most widely available blend, the report said.
Without mentioning Nussle by name, Republican legislators such as Senate Co-President Jeff Lamberti criticized Nussle's idea as a "feel good" proposal that would not accomplish much. "We truly believe E-10 is the past, and we want to get aggressive and move into the future," Lamberti told Radio Iowa. "We don't want something meek or timid.... We want to promote this industry." If every car in Iowa was running on E-10, that means just 10% of the fuel sold in the state was ethanol, said the report.
To sell more ethanol, consumers must be able to buy E-85, said Johnson. He added that in Polk County alonewhere there are 12,000 flexible-fuel vehicles (FFVs)ethanol use would jump to five million gallons just in the Des Moines metropolitan area if all those vehicles were using E-85; however, there is currently just one E-85 pump in Polk County, in Ankeny.
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