More money available for blender pumps

Looking to spur installation of ethanol blending pumps by retailers, the Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) is seeking applications for $400,000 in cost share funding from its "Fueling Our Future 100" initiative.

Iowa received a $5 million competitive grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Biofuel Infrastructure Partnership (BIP) program to support the alternative fuel initiative. The grant must be matched by non-federal funds, including $2.5 million from the Iowa Renewable Fuels Infrastructure Program.

Retailers applying for financial assistance will be required to provide a minimum of $2.5 million in matching funds for the purchase and installation of blender pumps and underground storage tanks for higher blends of ethanol.

Pumps and tanks funded through the program are required to be operating by Dec. 30, 2016. The pumps and underground storage tanks must continue operating for the intended purpose of dispensing higher blends of ethanol through Dec. 31, 2021.

'Iowa retailers have shown a willingness to invest in infrastructure to deliver renewable fuels,' said Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey in a news release. 'Customers have shown they are interested in choosing to increase the amount of clean burning, homegrown renewable fuels they use.

'Through this program we have supported the installation of more than 200 blender pumps and 24 underground storage tanks.'

Applications for the funding must be received at the IDALS office by 4 p.m. on Monday, June 20.

Speaking in January at the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association's 10th annual meeting in Altoona, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said the Biofuel Infrastructure Partnership program is an example of how federal funds can be leveraged by state and private partners to deliver better outcomes for taxpayers.

'The volume and diverse geographic locations of partners willing to support this infrastructure demonstrate the demand across the country for lower-cost, cleaner, American-made fuels,' Vilsack said.