Pumping Ethanol

With North Dakota ethanol plants pumping out close to 300 million gallons of the Corn-based alcohol each year, and plants elsewhere in the US making billions of gallons, the ethanol industry needs to find new ways to market its product.

And one method may start showing up at gas stations around the state soon.

Jim Olson reports on the industry's push for blender pumps.

The ethanol industry wants you to Blend Your Own when it comes to ethanol in your car or truck.

This video from the Nebraska Corn Growers explains the choices customers are finding at some gas stations - a variety of blends of gasoline and ethanol.

Jeff Zueger, general manager at Blue Flint Ethanol near Underwood, says blender pumps will allow drivers with flex fuel vehicles - that can use up to 85% ethanol - to select a more gas-rich blend like 30% or 50% ethanol. And the pumps solve a problem for gas stations with limited numbers of underground fuel tanks since they can have just one with ethanol.

(Jeff Zueger, Blue Flint Ethanol GM) "Most facilities don't have the extra tank capacity so in this case, if they have a premium, a regular, and a diesel and an E-10, you can take one of those, maybe the premium or E-10, and put ethanol in it and then at the pump it becomes blended into whatever ratio is appropriate."

But it's expensive to install new gas pumps - and that's where tax money comes in. The state legislature appropriated one million dollars to help stations put in blender pumps, and the state also dedicated one million dollars of federal stimulus money for installing blender pumps.

(Jeff Zueger, Blue Flint Ethanol GM) "The state funding runs out at the end of October next year so we've got a short window here."

Zueger and others in the ethanol industry hope the incentives convince more gas station owners to make the move that would allow you to blend your own gas-ethanol mixture and increase the amount of ethanol used across the nation.

(Jeff Zueger, Blue Flint Ethanol GM) "I think it really will advance the amount of ethanol that's consumed here in the state."

Zueger says the subsidies would allow about 400 blender pumps to be installed around the state.

source: kxnet