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Will lifting E15 gasoline tax actually save you money?
FOX 26 Consumer Reporter Heather Sullivan has some smart sense about the gasoline tax following President Biden's announcement to lift the E15 gasoline tax.
HOUSTON - President Joe Biden is hoping to ease your pain at the pump by suspending a ban on E15 gasoline this summer.
But will it really help you save money?
DETAILS: Biden to allow higher ethanol fuel blend this summer in bid to lower gas prices
There are not a lot of gas stations in the Houston area that sell E15, but there are some.
E15 is gasoline that is 15% ethanol and 85% gasoline. It has 5% more ethanol that the 10% you usually see at the pump.
Dr. Ramanan Krishnamoorti, a professor of Petroleum Engineering at the University of Houston, says most vehicles that run on gasoline can run on E15 without a problem.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SULLIVAN'S SMART SENSE
It’s banned during summer because it causes more smog.
Ethanol is made from corn, which is subsidized, making E15 cheaper than other gasoline options at the pump.
"The claim is it's probably about 10 cents a gallon cheaper, which is about 2% to 3%. The problem with that is you also lose fuel efficiency when you put ethanol in to burn, rather than gasoline. So your miles per gallon go down when you put ethanol into your gasoline," explained Krishnamoorti.
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FULL INTERVIEW: E15 gasoline ban: Pros and cons for lower gas prices
President Biden announced on Tuesday that he is waiving the ethanol rule to help with surging gas prices in the U.S. Dr. Ramanan Krishnamoorti, Professor of Petroleum Engineering at UH, talks with Heather Sullivan about the pros and cons of lifting the E15 gasoline ban in the summer to offer a lower-priced gas.
So how many miles per gallon does it go down?
The U.S. Department of Energy finds that mileage goes down 3% to 4% on E10, and 4% to 5% on E15.
PUMP PATROL: Find the lowest gas prices in your area!
Temporarily lifting the summer E15 ban isn't new. President Trump lifted it during the trade war with China, and it was lifted in Houston after Hurricane Harvey.
To find stations that sell E15, you can enter your zip code on the GetBiofuel.com fuel finder and it will show you local gas stations that have sold it.