The Renewable Fuels Association is urging the California Air Resources Board to quickly finalize proposed regulations allowing the sale of E15 as California drivers face gasoline prices averaging more than $6 per gallon.
CARB is scheduled to hold a hearing and vote next week on adoption of the E15 regulation. In comments submitted to CARB, RFA said expanding access to E15 could provide consumers with another gasoline option, increase available fuel supplies and provide savings for California drivers.
An analysis by economists at the University of California, Berkeley and the U.S. Naval Academy estimated that E15 could reduce gasoline prices for California consumers by approximately 20 cents per gallon, resulting in about $2.7 billion in annual consumer savings.
The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) also cited a more recent analysis by an independent petroleum refining expert that found E15's national average cost benefits have averaged 57 cents per gallon since the beginning of the Iran conflict.
RFA encouraged CARB to continue working with the state fire marshal and other agencies to address the E15 compatibility of vapor recovery equipment. The equipment issue is the final marketplace impediment preventing retailers from offering E15, according to RFA.
The association said California has completed the technical work needed to establish permanent E15 requirements. The state Legislature has unanimously authorized E15, CARB has completed its multimedia evaluation, California-specific emissions testing has been conducted, and the board has developed a regulatory framework for incorporating E15 into the existing gasoline program.
RFA began working with CARB in 2018 on the testing and analysis required for E15.
RFA supports CARB's proposal to regulate E15 as gasoline under the existing California Reformulated Gasoline program rather than as a separate alternative or specialty fuel. The association also supports proposed amendments establishing oxygen-content standards for E15, preserving multiple pathways for blending E15, relying on existing federal E15 labeling requirements instead of creating a California-specific label, and not establishing a separate E15-specific octane-posting requirement.
RFA has participated throughout CARB's E15 rulemaking process, including comments submitted in response to CARB's November 2025 E15 Scoping Workshop. The association previously urged CARB to incorporate E15 into the state's existing gasoline program and maintain supplier flexibility in how E15 is produced and distributed.
Source: Renewable Fuels Association, "RFA Urges CARB to Move Quickly for E15 Availability in California"