On March 18, Thorntons announced plans to offer E15 at all 43 of its Chicago-area stores starting this month. The E15 fuel is branded as Unleaded15. The ethanol industry has spoken out to commend Thorntons for its announcement.

“Unleaded15 offers a great value to our Chicago guests, and supports our desire to provide the best possible fuel options,” stated Jeff Gallic, vice president of fuel supply at Thorntons. “Thorntons has offered E85 for years and given the market demand for higher ethanol blends, we feel Unleaded15 is the next logical step for our fuel portfolio.”

“We are very excited about the expansion of Unleaded15 fuel in our Chicagoland stores,” added Matt Thornton, CEO of Thorntons. “We support the use of ethanol, wherever it is economically available.”

Tom Buis, co-chair of Growth Energy, commended Thorntons for its decision to offer the E15 fuel blend. “By adding this E15 offering to their fuel portfolio, Thorntons has demonstrated their commitment to consumer choice, and a cleaner burning, homegrown high-performance fuel,” he said. “Now Chicagoans will have the chance to do so as well by choosing to fill up with Unleaded15.”

Bob Dinneen, president and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association, has also spoken out in support of Thorntons’ announcement. “We are pleased to see E15’s footprint growing throughout the country. Chicago consumers can now benefit from using a lower carbon, higher octane fuel blend that is approved for nearly 80 percent of today’s automotive fleet,” he said.

“This is also the first significant rollout of E15 in a reformulated gasoline market, designated by EPA in nearly 20 cities to help reduce smog levels with cleaner gasoline,” Dinneen added. “That designation means E15 can be sold year-round in Chicago without being hampered by burdensome EPA gasoline volatility restrictions when the nation switches from winter to summer gasoline regulations.”