By: Stephanie Kelly, Jarrett Renshaw
An upcoming U.S. government funding bill is expected to include a plan that would allow year-round sales of gasoline with a higher ethanol blend, a major win for the corn and ethanol lobbies, according to two sources familiar with the matter. The inclusion would mark a hard-fought victory for the ethanol industry, which has wanted year-round E15 sales as a way to boost demand for its products. The plan would also provide credits to some refiners that prove compliance with the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), which mandates that refiners blend billions of gallons of biofuels into the nation's fuel mix or buy credits from those that do, the sources said.