A bill recently made it out of the Iowa House that would make biofuels more accessible at the gas pump.

District 47 Representative Phil Thompson of Boone says the bill allows for those gas stations that have the infrastructure in place to sell E-15, then they have to offer it for at least 50-percent of their pumps. He tells Raccoon Valley Radio last year’s bill that failed to pass the Legislature, it mandated gas stations to sell E-15 and he says this year’s bill takes a different course for those stations that don’t have the infrastructure in place.

“We worked on a lot of waivers processes to make sure that if you couldn’t sell it, if you didn’t have the infrastructure, and it was going to be a high cost to you that we’d give you a waiver and ensure that we’re not forcing any retailers to pour a lot of money into infrastructure upgrades.”

Thompson sees this as a good compromise, while also helping Iowa’s biofuels industry.

“As we try to keep promoting our renewable fuels and our healthy alternatives to certain other fuels, I think it’s a great way to promote what we do here in Iowa. We’ve got a lot of plants around Iowa, a lot of jobs, and a lot of our economy is already based around these ethanol blends. I think as we make it more accessible I do think we’ll see the demand be met.”  

Thompson adds there is a grant through the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship with the Renewable Fuels Infrastructure Program that allows up to $30,000 for gas stations to make upgrades to sell E-15 gas. The bill now heads over to the Senate for consideration.