Ethanol accounted for 11.06 percent of the nation’s gasoline in October, marking the first time in history that the monthly ethanol “blend rate” has topped 11 percent, according to newly released data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
The Renewable Fuels Association said the record-high blend rate reflects the expanding use of E15 and flex fuels like E85, and should put to rest—once and for all—the myth that a so-called “blend wall” prevents ethanol from making up more than 10 percent of the gasoline pool.
The 12-month average blend rate, which reflects longer-term trends, also hit a record of 10.48 percent in October. Expanding availability of E15 appears to be the driving factor in the blend rate increase, according to RFA. In Iowa, for example, E15 accounted for roughly 25 percent of total gasoline sales in November, virtually doubling since the start of 2025. And with E15’s legal approval in California in October, RFA is working with retailers in that state to make the more affordable blend available to Golden State drivers as soon as possible.
“The new data from EIA and the Iowa Department of Revenue provide clear evidence that ethanol is continuing to gain market share in the U.S. fuel market as American drivers increasingly choose lower-cost, cleaner-burning E15 and flex fuels like E85,” said RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper. “The numbers also prove that the fictitious ‘blend wall’ is nothing but an imaginary barrier created by those who oppose American-made renewable fuels produced from American-grown crops.”
Cooper noted that expanding sales of E15 in 2025 were facilitated, in part, by the Trump Administration’s timely issuance of emergency fuel waivers allowing E15 sales to continue throughout the summer months. However, the emergency waivers are a “band-aid fix,” he said. “To truly unleash lower-cost E15 in the marketplace, we need Congress to pass legislation that permanently removes the decades-old regulatory red tape that prevents most retailers from offering E15 to their customers during the busy summer driving season. Passing year-round E15 legislation would not only continue to build on the progress we saw in 2025, but it would also open a badly needed new market opportunity for our nation’s farmers.”
RFA also underscored the importance of quickly finalizing EPA’s proposed 2026-27 renewable volume obligations, which include the highest-ever renewable fuel blending requirements.
“The continued expansion of E15 depends, in large part, on EPA’s pending action to finalize robust RFS volumes for 2026-27 and full reallocation of any small refinery exemptions granted for 2023 and later compliance years,” Cooper said. “Indeed, EIA’s data clearly show that the average ethanol blend rate actually reversed course and fell when EPA granted SREs en masse in the 2018-19 timeframe and failed to reallocate the lost volume. Farmers, ethanol producers, and consumers simply can’t afford a repeat of the demand destruction we experienced due to SREs seven years ago.”
Based on EIA’s latest short-term energy outlook, maintaining an average blend rate of 11 percent for a full year would equate to 15 billion gallons of domestic ethanol consumption.
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