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Fuel retailers, farmers to benefit from biofuels infrastructure investment

A state biofuels leader is encouraging fuel retail facilities to take advantage of newly announced USDA grants.  

Helena Jette, biofuels director with the Indiana Soybean Alliance and Indiana Corn Marketing Council, says $100 million will be used to increase the sale and use of biofuels.

“It’s a 90-day window for applications and you can have up to $5 million allocated to your entity to help with infrastructure including underground storage tanks and above ground infrastructure like dispensers and nozzles to help sure up the market for renewable fuels,” she says.

She tells Brownfield farmers will also benefit from expanded biofuels.

“Which makes our corn and soybean farmers obviously very happy,” she says.

Jette says renewable fuels are being recognized as cleaner-burning and available now.

“Liquid fuels is here to stay for decades to come. USDA announcing another year of $100 million and then also including $500 million in the Inflation Reduction Act for the future are signals to myself and my colleagues that we have a role to play still in this renewable fuel space,” she says.

The USDA funding is available through its Higher Blends Infrastructure Incentive Program. The program aims to market higher blends of ethanol and biodiesel by sharing the costs to build and retrofit biofuel infrastructure.

Applications must be submitted by November 21.