SPRINGFIELD – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released grant funding to national gas station companies to support their Illinois locations in increasing the availability of domestic biofuel. The funding, awarded from the Higher Blends Infrastructure Incentive Program (HBIIP), was made possible by the Inflation Reduction Act—of which not a single Congressional Republican voted for.
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“The Inflation Reduction Act provided $500 million to install more dispensers and storage tanks at gas stations so that more drivers can get biofuels locally,” said Durbin. “Ethanol blends reduce carbon emissions and fuel costs. It’s good for Illinois farmers, and it’s good for rural jobs.”
“At a time when Big Oil has been profiting off of hardworking Americans, increasing the availability of domestic biofuels is vital,” said Duckworth. “When we prioritize homegrown biofuels, we’re encouraging job growth, prioritizing our national security, reducing gas prices, protecting our environment and securing Illinois’s leadership in the energy sector for years to come. I’m proud to see the Inflation Reduction Act bringing this critical support to our state and helping Illinois’s working families.”
In addition to supporting the agricultural sector, blending ethanol into fuel has helped lower fuel costs by 25 percent.
Recipients of Higher Blends Infrastructure Incentive Program grants include:
- Casey’s General Store – nationwide total of $4,999,992. A portion of this funding will go toward installing E15 dispensers at Casey’s General Store gas station locations in Carbondale, East Peoria, and Nokomis, Illinois.
- Piasa Enterprise, Inc. – total of $200,000. The full allotment of this funding will go toward installing two 30,000 gallon insulated biodiesel storage tanks and associated piping at the company’s location in Hartford, Illinois.
- Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores, Inc. – a nationwide total of $4,943,820. A portion of this funding will go toward creating infrastructure to expand the sales and use of renewable fuels, as well as retrofit E15 dispensers at gas stations in Williamsville, Ina, Kankakee, Dwight, Le Roy, Roscoe, and Greenville, and Utica, Illinois.
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