Minnesota Among States In Line To Add Hundreds Of Ethanol Pumps

Minnesota will get millions of federal dollars to help build hundreds more ethanol fuel pumps around the state.

On September 10, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack named the state as one of the 21 across the country that will share $100 million to expand the use of renewable fuels in vehicles.

The exact amount of money headed to the state remains to be determined. Minnesota also will have to match the grant dollar-for-dollar through a public-private partnership with a robust corn industry. But the U.S. Department of Agriculture believes the available funds will be enough to install 620 new blender pumps capable of dispersing fuel with varying percentages of ethanol.

A jump in available blender pumps in Minnesota should make it possible to drive up ethanol sales as a percentage of overall fuel consumption in the state. Right now, ethanol sales stand at 12 percent, slightly higher than the national average of 10 percent.

Only Florida, which will be funded for an estimated 892 pumps, and Texas, which will be funded for 763, will get more than Minnesota. Nationwide, USDA envisions 4,880 new pumps capable of blending different grades of ethanol.

Vilsack touted the investment as proof of the Obama administration’s commitment to renewable energy.

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