The Government of Ontario will soon require regular-grade gasoline in the province to contain 15 per cent ethanol, up from 10 per cent currently. The change will be phased in over the next 10 years, with an increase to 11 per cent in 2025, 13 per cent in 2028, and 15 per cent in 2030
The change is expected to result in an annual reduction of up to one megatonne of greenhouse gas emissions in 2030, which is the equivalent of taking 300,000 cars off the road every year, the province says.
“We know about one third of all greenhouse gas emissions in the province comes from transportation which is why increasing the amount of renewable content in gasoline is such an important step towards fighting climate change and driving down emissions,” says Jeff Yurek, Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, in a press release. “This change will also help attract investment in ethanol production, create jobs in rural communities, and assist the biofuel and agriculture sectors in their long-term economic recovery from COVID-19.”
Currently, almost 3 million metric tonnes of Ontario corn goes into ethanol production, representing about 33 per cent of corn produced in the province.
“The increase in the ethanol mandate to 15 per cent represents a great opportunity for our farmer-members. Every year Ontario grain farmers produce more corn on existing acres. We are ready to help the ethanol industry meet the demands of this new fuel mandate. We think the government has made the right choice to support this increase and build a more sustainable renewable energy industry for Ontario, and we are looking forward to working together to make this happen,” says Crosby Devitt, CEO of the Grain Farmers of Ontario.
By 2030, Ontario farmers could supply an additional 1.5 million tonnes of corn into ethanol without decreasing grain supplied to other existing markets today, says Grain Farmers of Ontario.
