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Vilsack announces $19M biofuel investment

A new round of USDA funding will help expand the availability of higher blends of ethanol and biodiesel.

Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack says the department is awarding $19 million in grants to increase access in 22 states. “We continue to invest in the infrastructure necessary for the renewable fuel industry to continue to prosper across the country.”

He says the funding will come from President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act. “This brings us to a total of 152 awards that have taken place, since the Biden-Harris administration came into office, in 35 states.”

According to USDA, Casey’s will use a $5 million grant to install ethanol blend fuel dispensers at 111 fueling stations in Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska and South Dakota; and Piasa Enterprises Inc. in Illinois will use a $200,000 grant to install two 30,000-gallon biodiesel storage tanks and associated piping at their Hartford fuel distribution center.

Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin are among the 22 states receiving grant funds.

Vilsack made his comments at the 2024 Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit in Altoona, Iowa on Thursday.