New partnership will expand availability of E15 and flex fuels to consumers.
The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) has thanked the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for its efforts to expand the availability of E15 and flex fuels for consumers through the Biofuels Infrastructure Partnership (BIP).
In an announcement at a Kissimmee, Fla Citgo fuel station, USDA secretary Tom Vilsack said the department is providing $100 million dollars in competitive matching grants to improve ethanol fueling infrastructure and availability, and 21 states and their private partners have put up more than $100 million additional dollars to match the federal grants at a more than one to one ratio.
“This is a great day for petroleum marketers who want to offer cleaner fuels, and an even better day for drivers, who will save money with more biofuel options at the pump,” said ACE senior vice president Ron Lamberty. “The USDA-BIP program funds will assist station owners who want to stand out from the competition and offer fuel blends like E15 and E85 to consumers. Making higher ethanol blends available in more stations from coast to coast has been a priority of secretary Vilsack, and this program does that, by offering funds to retailers from Pennsylvania to Texas, and from Florida to Colorado.”
“We’re also pleased to see that USDA selected a station supplied by Protec Fuel for this announcement. ACE has highlighted Protec’s story during our Washington DC Fly-in and Annual Conference, and their CEO, Todd Garner has joined us in visiting with other retailers at trade shows to show how these blends can work on the retail level,” said Lamberty. “Protec has already helped over 300 retailers – mostly single station or small chain owners – break through the imaginary blend wall by offering E85 and other higher blends, and these funds will push that number up to nearly 500.”
“This program is a great opportunity to continue to add to our growing network of retailers who offer higher ethanol blends,” said Protec Fuel CEO Todd Garner. “We are getting calls all of the time from hundreds of retailers, and these funds will help those projects move forward and expand the availability of E15 and E85 for more drivers.”
