Williamsburg fuel stations receive biofuels grants

DES MOINES — Two Williamsburg gas stations were awarded grants from the Iowa Renewable Fuels Infrastructure Program Board recently, according to a press release from Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig.

Multi-County Oil Co., 300 E. State St. in Williamsburg, was awarded $64,000, and Casey’s General Store, 130 E. Evans St., in Williamsburg, $4,925 for ethanol projects.

The Iowa Renewable Fuels Infrastructure Program Board approved 114 project applications from Iowa gas stations totaling more than $2.88 million for new and expanded ethanol and biodiesel infrastructure projects.

This sets a new quarterly record for the number of investments in biofuels projects, said Naig in a press release last week.

These investments help drivers save more money by providing expanded access to lower cost and cleaner burning homegrown biofuels. The grants were awarded by the RFIP Board during its quarterly meeting at the end of March.

New ethanol fueling infrastructure will be funded with the help of 112 RFIP cost-share grants for E15 projects totaling $2,733,943.66 at gas stations in 44 Iowa counties, the press release said.

The board also approved two biodiesel cost-share grants — one for retail and one for terminal storage — totaling $150,000.

These state funded grants are in addition to the federal Higher Blends Infrastructure Incentive Program grants recently announced by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins during her visit to Iowa last week. HBIIP funding will incentivize 543 projects, totaling $537 million in 29 states, including Iowa.

The grant announcements come at a time when biofuels usage continues to build momentum in Iowa, with E15 sales hitting another record in 2024. The Iowa Department of Revenue announced April 3 that sales of E15 grew by 44% over 2023 sales, which had also been the previous yearly record.

With 256.7 million gallons of E15 sold in Iowa in 2024 at an average discount of 15 cents per gallon compared to E10, Iowa drivers saved over $38.5 million last year by choosing E15 at the pump.

Last year also represented a record year for the sale of B20 and higher blends of biodiesel, demonstrating that homegrown renewable energy continues to be popular when made available to consumers.

These investments are helping more gas stations come into compliance with the E15 Access Standard, which goes into full effect on Jan. 1, 2026. Iowa is the first state to enact an E15 Access Standard, which requires most fuel retailers and gas stations to offer E15 by Jan. 1, 2026.

The law was passed by the Iowa Legislature and signed by Gov. Reynolds in 2022. For those convenience stores and gas stations that need assistance coming into compliance, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship can provide cost-share funding through the Renewable Fuels Infrastructure Program.

Since the grant program began in 2006, the Department has invested approximately $56.6 million toward expanding renewable fuels infrastructure within Iowa, said the press release. This has been matched with more than $260 million by Iowa gas stations and fuel retailers.

With cost-share funding available, the Department welcomes grant applications to assist more fuel stations in improving and upgrading infrastructure. Applications are available at iowaagriculture.gov/IRFIP.