News Release
March 17, 2016
Department of Agriculture offers grants to Missouri fuel retailers to install biofuel infrastructure
Applications due January 16, 2016
The Missouri Department of Agriculture is now accepting applications from Missouri fuel retailers for the Biofuel Infrastructure Partnership (BIP) grant program to accelerate the use and availability of higher blends of ethanol fuel as clean burning, renewable alternatives to conventional unleaded gasoline and, in turn, drive economic development in the state.
Last month, Gov. Nixon announced that Missouri will receive $2.9 million in grant funds through the BIP. This project enables the Missouri Department of Agriculture, with support from the Missouri Corn Merchandising Council, the state’s ethanol refineries and a national ethanol-industry-funded program called Prime the Pump, to work with retailers to install as many as 171 fuel pumps and expand access to renewable fuels in Missouri.
Missouri fuel retailers can participate through a special block grant program funded by the USDA grant and administered by the Missouri Department of Agriculture. Funding will be awarded to eligible business owners to purchase and install ethanol fuel pumps (E15-E85 certified blender, E85 dedicated) and storage tanks.
“In Missouri, agriculture continues to be our state’s number one economic driver, and an important contributor to that is our renewable fuels sector,” said Director of Agriculture Richard Fordyce. “The BIP grant will make ethanol blends more readily available in our state. While gas stations make it easy for motorists to choose between regular and super grade petroleum at the pump, few stations allow motorists to make a similar choice when it comes to a blend of ethanol and petroleum.”
The grant application and guidelines are available at agriculture.mo.gov. The deadline for submitting BIP applications is Jan. 16, 2016.
Retailers interested in participating in this program should contact Missouri Corn Director of Marketing Bradley Schad at (800) 827-4181 or Jane McIntosh at the Missouri Department of Agriculture at (573) 751-4211.
Missouri Gov. Nixon currently serves as the 2015 vice chairman of the Governors’ Biofuels Coalition. The 33-state bipartisan organization was founded more than 20 years ago to increase the use of ethanol based fuels, decrease the nation’s dependence on imported energy resources, improve the environment and stimulate the national economy. Gov. Nixon will become chairman of the group in January 2016.