Renewable fuels make holiday travel easier on the pocket — and the planet

As we watch the days get shorter and the weather get colder, it can only mean one thing — the holidays are almost upon us.

The coming months are a special time, full of celebration, meaning, and renewal. Whether we enjoy delicious meals, big family gatherings, or a night on the town for the end-of-year countdown, we all have traditions we eagerly anticipate. The season brings great joy, but getting to the events is another story. Whether you’re flying or driving, it’s a good bet you’ll be traveling soon — and paying more for it.

The days surrounding Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day are always the busiest travel days of the year. This year, AAA estimates 55 million people will travel over Thanksgiving, with 49 million getting behind the wheel and 5 million taking to the skies. And about 113 million people traveled in the closing days of 2022, with 102 million in passenger vehicles. This time around, a similar number of Americans will hit the road or fly. 

Unfortunately, for too many people, the skyrocketing cost of transportation — led by an increase in fuel prices — is a huge deterrent to visiting family and friends. In fact, nearly 25 percent of Americans surveyed blame higher travel costs for their decision to stay at home this holiday season. For those who do embark, travel costs can be a hard hit to the pocketbook at a time when families would prefer to buy gifts, decorations, or other holiday treats. With inflation continuing to drive up prices across the board, fitting holiday spending into the budget is becoming more difficult than ever.

This makes the cost of gasoline a top-of-mind issue across the country. The average family will spend $57 per day on gas when traveling by car for vacations and holidays. Most travelers assume they are captive to the whims of the global petroleum market and there is nothing they can do to lower the price they are paying at the pump. But that’s not entirely true. 

E15 fuel, in which traditional gasoline is mixed with 15 percent ethanol, generates average savings of more than 25 cents per gallon compared to regular gasoline with just 10 percent ethanol. American-made ethanol costs less than fossil fuels, so blending more of this renewable fuel into the gasoline supply reduces the amount Americans pay at the pump. And there’s a common misconception that your vehicle needs to be specially equipped to run on E15 — that’s not true either. If your car’s model year is 2001 or newer, it is approved to fill up on E15 and get where you want to go for less, while also polluting less.

That’s because the benefits of ethanol extend far beyond the financial. Ethanol helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 50 percent compared to petroleum. At the same time, E15 reduces harmful tailpipe emissions of particulate matter (soot), carbon monoxide, and other pollutants linked to human health problems. What better way to ring in 2024 than with cleaner air and a greener future?

There’s more to come from ethanol, too. Sustainable aviation fuel, or SAF, is under development. Used in jet airplanes, SAF will soon unleash the full potential of ethanol to make flying over the holidays — or any day — more environmentally friendly. 

The benefits of ethanol are there for taking, but it all starts with strengthening our commitment to renewable fuels. Change must come from the top with President Joe Biden and Congress. They can give America two valuable gifts this holiday season — allowing ethanol to qualify as a main ingredient for SAF and taking action to allow year-round E15 sales nationwide. Those two actions would give cost-conscious consumers and our environment something to truly be thankful for this year.  

Geoff Cooper is the president and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association.