U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar announced that the Environmental Protection Agency will extend a waiver allowing gasoline with blends of up to 15 percent ethanol (E15) to be used in cars built between 2001 and 2006. Klobuchar had called on the EPA to expand E15 use to older vehicles when the agency announced last fall that it would allow E15 to be used in vehicles made since the 2007 model year. The decision to include older model years means that up to 60 percent of cars and trucks on the road can run on E15 gasoline.

“The strength of our nation is tied to the strength of our energy economy,” Klobuchar said Monday in a news release. “The U.S. has the ability to be the global leader in energy because of the ingenuity of our farmers and manufacturers.  This announcement will strengthen our homegrown energy economy, help our country utilize more homegrown biofuels, and decrease our dependence on foreign energy.”

Minnesota has 21 ethanol plants that generated an estimated $3 billion in economic output and nearly 8,400 jobs last year. Estimates show that the nationwide adoption of E15 could reduce the importation of up to seven billion gallons of gasoline per year and inject an estimated $24 billion into the U.S. economy.

The news release says Klobuchar also supported grants to six Minnesota biofuels producers that were announced on Friday. The grants, totaling more than $500,000, are intended to expand advanced biofuels production. The funds were authorized by the 2008 Farm Bill and are overseen by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Bioenergy Program for Advanced Biofuels:

• Minnesota Soybean Processors: $398,974

• Corn Plus LLP: $128,659

• FUMPA Biofuels: $18,192

• Chippewa Valley Ethanol Coop LLP: $6,037

• West River Dairy LLP: $3,438

• Riverview LLP: $2,817

In December, Klobuchar helped lead an effort to secure a compromise to extend key biofuels tax credits, the news release states. It says Klobuchar is also working to pass legislation that would phase out the existing volumetric ethanol excise tax credit and tariff in favor of a more cost-effective ethanol producer credit, which would directly support farmers who produce more efficient and sustainable ethanol.

Klobuchar and seven other senators recently sent a letter to President Obama urging the administration to move swiftly to promote the integration of biofuels into the U.S. transportation fuel supply. EPA also established that E15 cannot be used in motorcycles, snowmobiles and other off-road vehicles.