“By expanding the availability of domestic biofuels, we are strengthening our energy independence, creating new market opportunities and revenue streams for US producers, and bringing good-paying jobs and other economic benefits to rural and farm communities,” USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack said.
Adaptation
The grants cover up to 75% or $5 million per project to help facilities convert to so-called higher-blend fuels. This means blending fossil gasoline and diesel with a higher proportion of (bio)ethanol content from agricultural crops; now 10% for gasoline and 5% in diesel. The switch requires adaptation and replacement of, for example, fuel pumps, dispensers, storage tanks and pipes. Grants are available for transportation and distribution facilities, including terminals, depots and filling stations, retail outlets that also sell fuel, and transportation, freight, rail and marine fleet facilities, among others; $4.5 Million is set aside for home heating oil distribution facilities.
In December 2022, the USDA already made $50 million available to expand the use and availability of biofuels through the Higher Blends Infrastructure Incentive Program (HBIIP). Grants for the first 59 projects have already been awarded. The amount will now be multiplied tenfold.
Last week, the US environment agency EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) set the highest ever production targets for biofuels in the US, with 64% growth in cellulosic biofuel production by 2025 and growth rates of around 20% over the next two years in other categories, including advanced biofuels and biomass-based diesel. The US government sees biofuels as indispensable in the pursuit of energy independence, climate mitigation and supporting agricultural communities.
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