Iowa's E15 sales hit 46 million gallons in August, on pace to pass E10 in 2026
Iowa terminals moved more than 46 million gallons of E15 in August, the second highest monthly total on record, and the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association now says the 15 percent blend is on track to pass E10 as the state's top-selling fuel by the end of this year. The numbers come from the Iowa Department of Revenue's monthly fuel-tax data, so this is what terminals actually distributed, not a survey.
"It will be close, but E15 is on track to become Iowa's top-selling fuel for 2026," said IRFA Executive Director Monte Shaw. He tied it to shelf space: as more Iowa retailers gave drivers the option, the volume followed.
For a jobber or c-store operator, the useful part is the mechanism. E15 sells when it's on the dispenser and priced under E10, which it usually is because the extra ethanol is cheaper than the gasoline it displaces. Iowa also pushes it with a state retailer credit and a blend infrastructure program. Put the two together and one state now has enough E15 pumps in the ground to move the mix. That is a demand signal for anyone deciding whether to plumb for the higher blend.
Corn into ethanol
Corn use for ethanol climbed in July, which lines up with the Iowa volume. More gallons blended means more bushels ground. It also feeds the RIN side: every gallon of ethanol blended generates a D6 credit, and steady blending keeps that pool supplied. No fresh RVO or RFS action this cycle, so the grind rate is the number carrying the story right now.
The overseas items
Two biofuel headlines crossed from abroad. Sunoil Biodiesel won approval to supply sustainable fuel in Belgium, and India's ICRIER told its government to take a flexible approach on ethanol blending. Neither moves a US gallon or a US RIN. A Belgian supply license and an Indian blending debate are domestic policy in their own markets, and US operators can note them and move on. If Indian ethanol demand ever pulled hard on global corn or shifted export flows, that would matter here. It doesn't yet.
What to watch
Whether Iowa actually crosses the line and E15 outsells E10 for the full year, since Shaw himself called it close. Watch the monthly Iowa Department of Revenue tax data for the September and October gallons. On the national side, watch the corn-grind rate and D6 RIN prices for whether blending demand holds through fall, and whether any other state moves to copy Iowa's retailer credit and infrastructure push.