A biodiesel pump at an Iowa Kum & Go fuel station. The HBIIP grant program provides federal dollars intended to increase sales and consumption of biodiesel and ethanol. IowaBiodieselBoard via Flickr

The U.S. Department of Agriculture will release nearly $260 million in new funds among a pot of $537 million in biofuel grants containing unfulfilled grants for 543 ethanol and biodiesel projects in 29 states.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced March 31 the release of new biofuel commitments made within the first 100 days of President Donald Trump’s second term as well as previously obligated funds not finalized under the previous administration.

“This announcement is part of Agriculture Secretary Rollins’ promise to honor commitments to rural communities — including the farmers, ranchers and small businesses at their core — and their essential role in building a stronger, more energy secure America,” a USDA spokesperson told Transport Topics.

Apparently, some of USDA’s 345 biofuel projects worth $287 million in grants announced Jan. 10 before Trump took office were not finalized and included in the newly released grants totaling $537 million.

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Brooke Rollins

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, shown in Washington, says that the grants included new awards made in accordance with Donald Trump’s “Unleashing American Energy” executive order.(Mark Scheifelbein/Associated Press)

“USDA will deploy energy investments that prioritize the needs of our rural communities,” Rollins noted when she made the announcement during a visit in Iowa. The state is the top U.S. producer of ethanol and biodiesel. Iowa boasts 10 biodiesel plants able that produce 416 million gallons annually.

“President Trump is honoring our commitment to America’s farmers, ranchers and small businesses, especially here in Iowa where corn and soy growers are crucial to supporting ethanol and biodiesel production,” Rollins said.

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She stated that the 543 grants included new awards made in accordance with Trump’s Jan. 20 executive order called “Unleashing American Energy.”

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Rollins was joined in Iowa by U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), who predicted the releasing of biofuel grants under the USDA’s Higher Blends Infrastructure Incentive Program (HBIIP) will benefit 275 stores across Iowa while providing “certainty for the state’s farmers and biofuel producers.”

“Through HBIIP, we will expand access to domestic, homegrown fuels which will increase good-paying jobs for hardworking Americans, restore rural prosperity and strengthen our nation’s energy security,” Rollins said.

The HBIIP grant program provides federal dollars intended to increase sales and consumption of biodiesel and ethanol, helping companies pay to expand their infrastructure for biofuels derived from American agricultural products.

Ernst noted she has been a champion of the HBIIP program.

“I’ve worked hard to help develop and maintain HBIIP over the years to ensure that from Casey’s to your local mom-and-pop gas stations, retail store owners have the tools they need to deliver higher blends of biofuels at the pump, expanding access to homegrown fuels and choices for consumers,” she noted. “This is another example of how the Trump administration is putting our rural communities first.”

Individual Iowa companies were awarded 17 grants totaling $19.7 million for biodiesel and ethanol projects. The largest grant ($8.2 million) was awarded to Casey’s General Stores Inc., founded in Boone in 1968. The company intends to use the grant to install 409 dispensers of ethanol E15 blends, seven E85 dispensers and 690 biodiesel blends of B20 at 299 gas stations in Iowa and nine other states. The new infrastructure will enable the company to increase the amount of biofuel it sells by 51.9 million gallons yearly.

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California received the lion’s share of the federal grants: 57 awards to single companies for state projects totaling $68.1 million. Among these was an award of $4.9 million to biodiesel fuel distribution facility company Western Iowa Energy. Based in Wall Lake, the company notes it produces 45 million gallons of biodiesel annually. The federal grant will be spent on a project in Watsonville, Calif., located in an agricultural heartland in the Monterey Bay area. Western Iowa Energy plans to install a 1 million-gallon biodiesel storage tank, two 500,000-gallon biodiesel storage tanks and offloading equipment to increase the amount of biodiesel sold there by 43.7 million gallons per year.

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USDA also awarded HBIIP grants to several other multistate companies. Anabi Real Estate Development will receive $4.3 million to install 28 ethanol (E85) dispensers, 57 biodiesel (B20) dispensers, three ethanol storage tanks and 20 biodiesel storage tanks across 22 fueling stations in California, Florida and Nevada. These additions are expected to result in raising annual biofuel sales to 1.4 million gallons.

A $5 million grant was allocated to Buckeye Terminals, a Baltimore-based fuel distribution firm. The company intends to install “a B100 ship-loading supply pump, B100 ship-offloading system and steam-to-hot-oil tank heating system,” according to USDA.

The funds also will pay to convert two tanks to handle biodiesel: a 1.86 million gallon tank and a 281 million-gallon tank. The plan also is to install biodiesel blending and loading infrastructure as well as convert/install a B100 offload station in New Jersey, Massachusetts and Michigan. After completion, the company expects to increase the amount of biodiesel sold by 136.7 million gallons per year.