SACRAMENTO, CALIF.-Growth Energy, the nation's largest biofuel trade association, applauded California Governor Gavin Newsom for including E15-a higher biofuel blend made with 15% American-made bioethanol-in his recently-released budget proposal.

"E15 would help California accomplish its twin goals of lowering fuel costs while decarbonizing its light-duty vehicle fleet," said Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor. "We thank Gov. Newsom for his leadership and for including E15 in his budget proposal. We look forward to working with the state to complete the approval process and finally give Californians access to this more affordable engine-smart, earth-kind fuel option, which Americans in other states have already relied on to travel more than 140 billion miles."

About E15

E15 is a fuel blend made of gasoline and 15% bioethanol. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved its use in all cars, trucks, and sport utility vehicles (SUVs) made in model year 2001 and newer-representing more than 96% of all vehicles on the road today. E15 can be found at over 3,700 gas stations in 33 states and is legal for sale in every state except California. Last summer drivers saved 10 to 30 cents per gallon by filling up with E15 compared to regular, or E10. In some areas, E15 saved drivers as much as a dollar per gallon at the pump.

If the United States were to transition from an E10 standard to an E15 standard nationwide, greenhouse gas emissions would fall by 17.62 million tons per year (the equivalent of removing approximately 3.85 million vehicles from the road every year). Nationwide adoption of an E15 standard would also save consumers $20.6 billion in annual fuel costs, increase household income by $36.3 billion, and generate $66.3 billion for U.S. GDP.

Learn more about E15 here.