美國批准15%乙醇燃料上市 引發各方爭議

A firestorm of controversy has erupted over a waiver issued by the U.S. EPA today that permits the sale of a gasoline blend containing 15 percent ethanol, known as E15, for model year 2007 and newer cars and light trucks.

The waiver removes a regulatory limit on selling fuel that is more than 10 percent ethanol. Since 1979, up to 10 percent ethanol or E10 has been used for all conventional cars and light trucks, and non-road vehicles. Gasoline sold in most parts of the country is blended with 10 percent ethanol. Higher ethanol blends up to E85 are already sold for flex-fuel cars.

Today's decision will apply to more than 42 million vehicles, nearly 20 percent of the current fleet of passenger cars and light-duty trucks.

EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said, "Thorough testing has now shown that E15 does not harm emissions control equipment in newer cars and light trucks. Wherever sound science and the law support steps to allow more homegrown fuels in America's vehicles, this administration takes those steps."

The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 mandated an increase in the overall volume of renewable fuels into the marketplace reaching a 36 billion gallon total in 2022. The EPA says ethanol is considered a renewable fuel because it is produced from plant products or wastes and not from fossil fuels.

Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis was delighted with the EPA's decision. "Today's approval of E15 for newer vehicles is the first crack in the blend wall in more than 30 years, and proves what was laid out in Growth Energy's Green Jobs Waiver - that E15 is a good fuel for American motorists. And while this is an important first step, there are many more steps we can take toward strengthening our national security by reducing our dependence on foreign oil, creating jobs here in the United States and improving our environment."

But the EPA move immediately ran into opposition from the National Association of Clean Air Agencies, NACAA, which represents air pollution control agencies in 52 states and territories and more than 165 major metropolitan areas.

NACAA Executive Director Bill Becker said, "Today's announcement to approve a higher blend of ethanol in newer motor vehicles is a classic case of 'ready, fire, aim.'"

"EPA is moving forward to allow the use of E-15 even though the agency believes that emissions of nitrogen oxides, an important contributor to ground-level ozone, could increase by as much as an average of five percent across the country," Becker said.

Some environmental groups also condemned the waiver today. Friends of the Earth called on the EPA to produce a complete accounting of the air pollution that will be caused by the new ethanol-gasoline blend, saying the EPA has failed to meet consumer and environmental protections embedded in the Clean Air Act that require more testing before a new fuel is introduced in the marketplace.

More than 22,000 people emailed President Barack Obama urging him to stop the EPA from approving the waiver "until comprehensive, independent and objective scientific testing can show that higher ethanol levels will not increase air pollution, harm engines or raise consumer safety issues."

Some fear that the demand for more corn to produce ethanol will have serious environmental effects and raise both food and feed prices. Since ethanol produces less energy than gasoline, many worry that E15 drives down the number of miles a vehicle gets per gallon, so drivers must buy fuel more often.

Gregory Scott, executive vice president and general counsel of the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association, said, "The Environmental Protection Agency today abdicated its responsibility to safeguard our nation's public health and environment and became the Ethanol Promotion Agency."

The critics were dismissed by the American Coalition for Ethanol, Growth Energy, the National Corn Growers Association, and the Renewable Fuels Association.

"America's ethanol industry has been an undeniable success, creating hundreds of thousands of jobs and reducing our nation's reliance on foreign oil," the four organizations said in a joint statement. "These groups that have repeatedly attacked ethanol without validation would leave America with just one course of action: increasing our addiction to foreign oil."

The EPA said today the 15 percent waiver represents the first of a number of actions that are needed from federal, state and industry towards commercialization of E15 gasoline blends.