Blender Pump Program Debuts With Ceremony At Truck Stop
Motorists will find a new blended ethanol option at nearly 100 service stations across South Dakota through a $1 million grant program, Lt. Gov. Dennis Daugaard announced at the Double “T” Truck Stop north of Yankton on Wednesday.
The grant was passed in the state’s last legislative session.
Four Yankton service stations have been awarded funds ranging from $10,000-$20,000 to install ethanol-blended pumps. While the Double “T” Truck Stop has already installed its pumps, three other stations are projected to do so, later this year. Those stations are Gerstner Oil Co., Inc.; Papa’s Yankton and Yankton Prairie Pumper.
Ethanol-blended pumps, which take regular unleaded gas and blend it with a certain percentage of ethanol, are now available and finally affordable to service stations, due to the grant allocated through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Wednesday’s ceremony attracted many dignitaries, including Daugaard, energy policy director Hunter Roberts, one Yankton city official and several executives from Poet Ethanol Products.
Daugaard, speaking for Gov. Mike Rounds who could not be present, described ethanol fuel usage as a “great step” for the state.
“The blender pumps offer South Dakota an opportunity to use more of our own ethanol,” Daugaard said.
Other benefits of installing blender pumps include reducing dependence on foreign oil, increasing local business and offering a cleaner option, he added.
As of June 1, the nation had 157 service stations with blender pumps. South Dakota had 42 ethanol-blended pump locations, just behind Minnesota with 49.
But with the $1 million grant, South Dakota will bump to the No. 1 spot when 49 more blended pumps are installed at fuel stations across the state.
According to a press release from the governor’s office, one of the 42 stations that currently has a blender pump will be replacing it with a new model, so it is not be counted among the 49 additional stations.
By the end of this project, South Dakota will have 90 ethanol-blended fuel locations in 40 communities.
Later in the day, politics blended into the occasion when Democrat Scott Heidepriem, who is challenging the Republican Daugaard for governor, issued a press release that criticized the Rounds/Daugaard commitment to the ethanol industry.
“It is wrong and unfortunate that the energy policy director (Hunter Roberts) and Denny Daugaard would hold a press conference attempting to take credit for advances in the ethanol industry when they have such a checkered record in support of ethanol in the state,” he said.
Among the criticisms, Heidepriem leveled the administration didn’t support a bill he sponsored that called for installing blender pumps at Department of Transportation stations across the state.
Tony Venhaizen, Daugaard’s campaign manager, told the Press & Dakotan that Heidepriem was “trying to play politics with what we think is a very positive announcement for the state. I would think Sen. Heidepriem would be pleased about today’s announcement.”
Venhaizen added that Daugaard has always been a “big supporter” of the ethanol industry,” noting that Daugaard won a Friend of Ethanol award when he was a state senator.
Beyond the politics, the funds justified the decision to purchase ethanol blender pumps, said Terry Stucky, owner of Yankton’s Double “T” Truck Stop.
“I had a pump that needed to be replaced,” Stucky said, “and I had to do some upgrading because some of the equipment here was obsolete.”
With the help of $10,000 in grant funds, the hefty price of new ethanol blender pumps didn’t seem as daunting. His station now sells fuel with 10, 20, 30 and 85 percent ethanol.
The price of ethanol-blended gas is significantly cheaper than regular gasoline, Stucky said.
“In this economy, people are looking for a bargain,” he added.
Customers should be aware that unless they are driving a fuel-flex vehicle, they cannot take advantage of all the ethanol blends, said Rick Serie, an executive at Poet LLC in Sioux Falls. Serie also serves as a representative for the South Dakota Ethanol Producers Association.
People in the ethanol industry, like Serie, are working to change the Environmental Protection Agency’s standards on what percent of ethanol can be used by vehicles that are not fuel-flex. Its current regulatory cap is destroying margins, stifling growth and conflicting with EISA 2009, according to the South Dakota Ethanol Producers Association.
Serie would like to see the approved standard increase from the current level of 10 percent.
While flex-fuel vehicles have been manufactured since the 1980s, drivers may own one and not even know it. To find out, check the identification sticker on the car’s fuel filler door or consult the owner’s manual.
Some people who own flex-fuel vehicles may not even consider trying ethanol-blended fuel because they think it is hard on their vehicle’s parts, said Serie.
“We’d like to encourage consumers to do a little trial on (the ethanol-blended pumps) and test it out for themselves,” he said.
“Whenever something is new, sometimes it’s confusing to people,” Stucky added.
To help customers with any questions they may have about the new pumps, he has been available from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. at his service station, helping and training them.
The decision to purchase ethanol blender pumps is also good for local South Dakota farmers and businesses.
“The more ethanol we burn, the more corn is used up,” Stucky said. “It’s a good deal.”
The new pumps have generated a lot of interest by customers. Because of the positive response, Stucky plans to add more blender pumps at his service station by the end of 2011.
