Available Now: $100 Million in New Grant Money to Upgrade Fuel Station Infrastructure.
We Can Help.
ANOTHER ROUND OF USDA INFRASTRUCTURE FUNDING WILL EXPAND AVAILABILITY AND USE OF HIGHER ETHANOL BLENDS
AUGUST 23, 2022 — USDA opened a new round of grants today under the Higher Blends Infrastructure Incentive Program (HBIIP). In its inaugural run in 2020, HBIIP made $86 million available to station owners to cover 50 percent of costs to upgrade fueling infrastructure to accommodate higher blends of ethanol. This year the program will distribute $100 million to station owners across the country to enable them to sell more clean, renewable, American fuel and to benefit from its competitive advantages.
The HBIIP program was designed “to increase significantly the sale and use of higher blends of ethanol and biodiesel by expanding the infrastructure for renewable fuels derived from U.S. agricultural products,” according to USDA.
Station owners who want a shot at that trove of funding can apply for it with the help of Flex Forward, a fuel marketer program initiated by the American Coalition for Ethanol.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture opened an application period for this latest round of HBIIP to pay up to 50 percent of the cost of equipment for station owners to add or upgrade to sell higher ethanol blends like E15 and E85. This funding is separate from the $500 million provided in the budget reconciliation bill signed into law recently by President Joe Biden. American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) Chief Marketing Officer Ron Lamberty welcomed this news in the following statement:
“Under Secretary Vilsack’s leadership, USDA continues to make funding available to help fuel marketers pay for equipment they install or upgrade to offer higher ethanol blends at c-stores, gas stations and blending facilities. This program helps make lower carbon ethanol blends available in more locations to help meet greenhouse gas reduction goals. In most of the country, E85 is a lower carbon option than even plug-in electric vehicles and it is available right now at prices well below the cost of gasoline. There are more than 20 million flex fuel vehicles on the road already and if we’re serious about decreasing transportation carbon emissions, more E15 and E85 fueling locations can help move the needle in weeks and months, not years.
“ACE was pleased to provide input on ways to improve this round of funding, including making funds more accessible to small marketers, by sharing feedback we received from the single-store and small chain operators we work with regularly. We’ll again promote USDA’s biofuel infrastructure program with paid advertising, a new round of video tutorials we plan to film with the USDA HBIIP manager, and by helping retailers across the country submit applications. We were excited to jumpstart this promotion earlier this month by hosting USDA and some top marketers at a free workshop to help us get the word out to other retailers.”
The application process is a bit involved, but at Flex Forward we can help. It’s basically free money for your station — the main cost to you is putting in the time and effort to get it.
GET HELP APPLYING FOR HBIIP NOW
We’ve studied this program closely. We know this stuff. We can help you get a slice of this HBIIP pie.
Put yourself at the front of the line now that USDA has opened this funding — but hurry: applications close November 21, 2022.
(PS: We don’t sell or share your contact information.)
