Projects in 23 states across the nation will receive a combined $26 million to install pumps, tanks, and other equipment for selling higher-blend biofuels, said the USDA on Thursday. The projects are expected to expand the availability of higher-blend fuels by 822 million gallons annually.
The grant money comes from the year-old Higher Blends Infrastructure Incentive Program, or HBIIP. “We’re giving consumers more environmentally friendly fuel choices when they fill up at the pump and stimulating an important market for U.S. farmers and ranchers,” said USDA rural development official Justin Maxson.
Higher-blend biofuels include E15, a 15 percent blend of ethanol into gasoline, and E85, an 85 percent blend. Grant recipients include businesses interested in biodiesel fuel.
Also on Thursday, Marathon Petroleum Corp. and ADM announced a joint venture to produce soybean oil in North Dakota “to supply rapidly growing demand for renewable diesel fuel.” A facility in Spiritwood, North Dakota, is expected to produce 600 million gallons of refined soy oil annually, enough to make 75 million gallons of renewable fuel.
For a list of the HBIIP projects, click here.