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Missouri awarded nearly $3 million for ethanol expansion, Gov. Nixon announces

JEFFERSON CITY – Missouri will receive $2.9 million in federal grant funds to install as many as 171 renewable fuel pumps throughout the state, Gov. Jay Nixon announced today. The grant funds are being made available through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Biofuel Infrastructure Partnership.

“American-made biofuels help to strengthen our economy by reducing dependency on foreign oil while creating an important market for Missouri farm families,” Gov. Nixon said. “I appreciate the Missouri Department of Agriculture and our friends at Missouri Corn for working together to secure this grant funding that will be put to good use in communities across the state.”

In Missouri, the infrastructure expansion will provide the equipment needed to sell up to 4.9 million additional fuel gallons per year at the region’s leading ethanol retailers. Current grant participants include Kum & Go, HyVee, MFA Oil and Prairie Land FS. All Missouri fuel retailers will have an opportunity to participate in the infrastructure expansion.

“In Missouri, agriculture continues to be our state’s number one economic driver, and an important contributor to that is our renewable fuels sector,” Director of Agriculture Richard Fordyce said. “This 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.”

“This is a huge opportunity to increase consumer access to higher ethanol blends and support retailers who understand the importance of a diverse fuel supply,” said Missouri Corn Merchandising Chairman Gary Porter, a corn farmer from Mercer. “We applaud Gov. Nixon, the Missouri Department of Agriculture and USDA for their commitment to higher blends of corn-based ethanol and reducing our nation’s dependence on foreign oil.”

The infrastructure provided through the USDA grant will allows drivers to dispense ethanol-blended gasoline, ranging from unleaded gasoline to up 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline (E85) through blender pumps. These pumps also dispense mid-level ethanol blends such as E15, E20 and E30. 

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.