Expanding Access To Higher Blends Through Pump Infrastructure

Building out the infrastructure needed for future mid-level blends of ethanol continues to be a priority of the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA). Over the past three-years, NCGA and state partners have worked with Wayne Fueling Systems to produce and sell fuel pumps certified to deliver fuel containing up to 25 percent ethanol.

Thanks to this key partnership, NCGA has supported the sale of more than 50,000 new fuel pumps across the U.S., building out the infrastructure needed to support future mid-level blends of ethanol.

“This lays the groundwork for growing ethanol demand and moving the industry forward,” said NCGA Market Development Vice President Jim Bauman. “Corn farmers’ support of NCGA’s multi-year fuel pump infrastructure program supports the introduction of higher octane fuels delivered by low-carbon, affordable, corn-based ethanol.”

NCGA also recently partnered with the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), assisting fuel retailers in applying for the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Higher Blends Infrastructure Incentive Program (HBIIP). The $100 million program included $86 million to expand the availability of higher blends of ethanol, like E15 and E85.

Corn farmer support for this program helped deliver program awareness and technical assistance for applications representing more than 1,100 fuel dispensers across 21 states and 222 locations. Combined, these locations sell more than 250 million gallons of gasoline annually.

“All of these initiatives complement each other and help us build future demand for ethanol and corn farmers,” Bauman added. “Long-term, if the U.S. were to move to a higher octane, mid-level blend of ethanol, it could equate to 5 billion gallons of new ethanol demand, or 1.8 billion bushels of corn annually.”

You can learn more about NCGA’s efforts at ncga.com/octane.