Light To Guide Our Feet Victory Bulletin - U.S. Department of Agriculture Official Highlights Renewable Fuel Choices for Missouri Drivers

U.S. Department of Agriculture Official Highlights Renewable Fuel Choices for Missouri Drivers

Installation of Flexible Fuel Pumps Boosts Renewable Fuels Industry, Creates Jobs

Kearney, MO. - - (August 17, 2011) - - USDA Rural Development Administrator Judith Canales saw first-hand today how flexible fuel pumps are providing Missouri drivers with more choices when they pull up to the fuel pump. With support from the Obama Administration, USDA is helping to fund the installation of flex-fuel pumps through the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP). Canales visited two sites today that now have pumps funded, in part, by the program.

"The installation of these pumps will help Missouri businesses, residents and motorists in many ways," said Canales, Administrator of USDA's Rural Business-Cooperative Service. "It will help businesses that install them create jobs, and it will spur economic activity in the renewable energy industry. This effort builds on the Obama Administration's commitment to 'Win the Future' by developing innovative ways to meet our future energy needs."

Flexible fuel pumps are specifically designed to dispense ethanol-gasoline blends that contain up to 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. In addition, they may also dispense mid-level blends, such as E15 and E30. USDA Rural Development provided funding to assist in the installation of the pumps at Platte-Clay Fuels LLC, an affiliate of Platte –Clay Electric Cooperative, through REAP.

Canales' trip was a follow-up to her May 2011 visit to the "Show Me State" when she kicked off a series of workshops USDA Rural Development held around the country to highlight financing available for flexible-fuel pumps at gas stations and to highlight USDA support for renewable energy. The workshops focused on changes to the Rural Energy for America Program that make agriculture producers in non-rural areas also eligible for REAP assistance. REAP grants can be used for renewable energy systems, energy efficiency improvements, energy audits and studies to determine the feasibility of renewable energy systems.

In addition to other energy conserving and producing activities, REAP provides grants and loan guarantees for the installation of retail flexible fuel pumps and related equipment and the retrofitting of existing pumps to dispense E85. Grant awards are limited to no more than 25 percent of total eligible project costs, with a minimum grant of $2,500 and a maximum grant of $500,000. Loan guarantees are available for up to 75 percent of total eligible project costs.

In June, President Obama signed an Executive Order establishing the first White House Rural Council, chaired by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. The Council will work throughout government to create policies to promote economic prosperity and a high quality of life in our rural communities.

Since taking office, President Obama's Administration has taken significant steps to improve the lives of rural Americans and has provided broad support for rural communities. The Obama Administration has set goals of modernizing infrastructure by providing broadband access to 10 million Americans, expanding educational opportunities for students in rural areas, and providing affordable health care. In the long term, these unparalleled rural investments will help ensure that America's rural communities are repopulating, self-sustaining and thriving economically.

USDA, through its Rural Development mission area, administers and manages housing, business and community infrastructure and facility programs through a national network of state and local offices. Rural Development has an existing portfolio of more than $155 billion in loans and loan guarantees. These programs are designed to improve the economic stability of rural communities, businesses, residents, farmers and ranchers and improve the quality of life in rural America.

Courtesy U.S. Department of Agriculture (Article's title edited)

Light to Guide Our Feet Victory Bulletin [LTGOFVB] August 2011