"I'm proud that my fellow [image-nocss] growers from so many states have seen the need to support renewable fuel infrastructure and are partnering on this national campaign to increase the availability of ethanol to consumers," said Darrin Ihnen, first vice president of the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) and a farmer from Hurley, S.D. "Just like ethanol plants give us more choices for where to sell our crops, blender pumps give drivers more choices at the pump. When given the choice, we believe American motorists will choose ethanol."
The campaign will offer a single source of ethanol information and technical expertise for petroleum marketers looking to upgrade equipment or begin offering more choices to their customers. By serving as a central clearinghouse for renewable fuels infrastructure incentives, the BYOethanol campaign will bring blender pumps to key areas of the country and from there they will spread as neighboring gas stations see the benefit and want to remain competitive.
Blender pumps are not new to the fuel industry, but are now finding new use with ethanol and E85. A blender pump features two underground tanks, typically one with unleaded and one with E85, and the dispenser blends the appropriate percentages of the two fuels to create any blend of ethanol from zero to 85%. Gas station owners benefit from product flexibility and by being ready for future renewable fuel blend levels, and consumers benefit by having new choices at the pump like E20 or E30 for their flexible fuel vehicles.
"This campaign will be successful because it works directly with petroleum marketers, not paying them to put in a blender pump, but explaining to them why it's a good business decision, how it will benefit the station, and helping them access the state and federal incentives that exist," said Ron Lamberty, vice president of market development for ACE. "If we present petroleum marketers with the facts about why this is a good business decisionand it is a good business decisionthey will consider adding blender pumps to their stations. Now our job is to get this information out to as many of them as possible, and we've already begun doing that."
Along with the NCGA, several leading corn-producing states are participating in this program. At press time, state agencies participating are the Kansas Corn Commission, the Kentucky Corn Promotion Council, the Missouri Corn Merchandising Council, the Nebraska Corn Board and the South Dakota Corn Utilization Council.
"Blender pumps are the best way to expand the reach of renewable fuels, and it's time for a national campaign to get this infrastructure in the ground and get consumers the choices they deserve," said Robert White, director of market development for the RFA. "No matter where their station is located, retailers will have a wide variety of options to increase their profit margin while lowering the cost for consumers."
The BYOethanol campaign will function as an expanded market development program of the two ethanol groups and will serve as the only one-stop source for all the technical, regulatory, safety and environmental information petroleum marketers need about retailing ethanol blends. The program will feature extensive work at petroleum marketer events and a web presence designed specifically for station owners to easily get the information they want.
Click hereto view a map of the nearly 200 blender pump locations in the United States.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.