The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced today that it will invest up to $100,000,000 to increase the number of gas pumps that blend higher amounts of ethanol into the fuel.
These pumps are often called "blender pumps" and can be used to dispense fuel up to 85% ethanol for vehicles designed to use flex fuels.
The goal is to increase the amount of ethanol available to motorists by building the infrastructure of available pumps. According to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsak:
"USDA is helping to ensure the infrastructure is in place for consumers to access more renewable fuels, expand marketing opportunities for farmers, and grow America's rural economies."
The announcement also mentioned that the goal of the program is to double the amount of pumps capable of supplying higher blends.
Senator Chuck Grassley (IA) took to the floor of the US Senate this week to respond to the misconceptions found in a Wall Street Journal piece. Specifically, he responded to the myths from the chain restaurants and chicken producers regarding cleaner burning, American-made renewable fuels.
Here are a few key points the senator made:
"I’m going to take this opportunity to do a simple fact check of some of the most egregious claims.
First, they claim that since 2005, when the Renewable Fuel Standard was first adopted, costs of vital food commodities, including corn, grains and oilseeds, poultry, meat, eggs and dairy have risen dramatically.
This is pure myth.
The fact is, consumer food prices have increased by an annual average of 2.68 percent since 2005.
In contrast, food prices increased by an average of 3.47 percent in the 25 years leading up to passage of the RFS.
Prices for chicken breast have been nearly flat over the past seven years, averaging $3.43 per pound in 2007, and just 3 pennies more, to $3.46 per pound in 2014.
Corn prices are expected to average $3.50 per bushel this year, according to USDA.
This would be the lowest price in nearly 10 years, and 17 percent below the average price of $4.20 a bushel in 2007, when the RFS2 was enacted.
That’s a fact: with ethanol production at record levels today, corn prices are lower now than they were in 2007.
It’s been proven time and again by the EPA, USDA and others – there is no correlation between corn prices or ethanol production and retail food inflation or food prices. It’s just a fact.
Second, they claim that as a result of the RFS, corn is being “diverted” from livestock feed to ethanol. Again, this claim is false.
Corn used for ethanol has come from the significant increases in corn production since 2005.
In 2005, American farmers produced 11.1 billion bushels of corn.
In 2014, they produced 14.1 billion bushels.
And, one-third of the corn used for ethanol production is returned to the market as animal feed. The amount of corn and corn co-products available for feed use is larger today than any time in history.
So, it’s hardly being diverted."
Senator Grassley's full transcript can be found HERE.
NASCAR has the largest renewable energy projects in professional sports and the world. And it's an important part of NASCAR's Green program.
Since 2011, NASCAR has been using E15 ethanol, made from corn grown in America that has reduced racetrack greenhouse emissions by 20% while increasing horsepower.
And recently, NASCAR raced more than 7 million competitive miles of facing action using E15 in all NASCAR vehicles.