South Dakota is looking for gas station owners who want to install ethanol blender pumps, with $1 million in federal stimulus money to help prime the pump.
Gas stations can apply for $10,000 grants to help offset the cost of installing the pumps. The grants will be awarded between April 1 and May 28.
"I think this is a really great deal, and it's a smart thing to do for petroleum marketers," said Ron Lamberty, vice president of the American Coalition for Ethanol. "You add the blender pumps, you upgrade your equipment and you're set for the future. As a petroleum distributor myself, I've already filled out my form."
The pumps mix unleaded gasoline with higher blends of ethanol, from E10 (10 percent ethanol) for regular passenger cars and trucks to E85 (85 percent ethanol) for flex-fuel vehicles. The pumps would allow consumers to choose blends, even ethanol-free gasoline.
Sioux Falls got its first blender pumps in January, when King's Liquor Mart on the southwest corner of Cliff Avenue and Benson Road added pumps that dispense E30.
Besides the yellow hose and nozzle, blender pumps look similar to other gas pumps in Sioux Falls. The blending is done soon after the E30 button is pushed at the pump. Underground are two tanks, one filled with E85 and one filled with unleaded. The blend is a mixture of both.
The time it takes to dispense gas from a blender pump is similar to an unleaded pump, Lamberty said.
"These are the next generation of pumps," he said.
The Sioux Falls blender pump location joins 40 other active locations across the state and about 150 nationwide, according to the American Coalition of Ethanol.
With the new incentives in South Dakota, that list should grow rapidly, Lamberty said.
"I've been talking already to 10 petroleum marketers," he said. "Once the word gets out, it'll move pretty quickly, I think."
Some studies have indicated that mid-level blends can improve fuel efficiency, Gov. Mike Rounds said in a statement.
"Installing blender pumps is a great opportunity for South Dakota to increase the availability of homegrown, renewable fuel to citizens," he said. "It is also a great opportunity for retail fuel stations to update some of their pumps. These pumps will allow us to maximize the use of ethanol in our vehicles to obtain the best efficiency possible."
The grant money is only for the pumps and the associated hardware. Storage tanks, either above or below ground, and other infrastructure items are not eligible. Projects must be completed by December to get the reimbursement.
The stimulus funds will defray the cost for 100 new pumps.
"The increase of blender pumps in South Dakota will be a great boost to both the state and the nation when it comes to energy security," Hunter Roberts, state energy policy director, said in a statement. "I would encourage any interested retailer to apply."
source: argusleader
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
0 comments
Post a Comment