Marketplace Today Blog

The Wisconsin Bio Industry Alliance hosted a media event in Little Chute Wednesday to discuss the importance of increasing the number of blender pumps in Wisconsin.

While more than 100 locations across the state allow consumers to purchase gasoline blended with up to 85 percent ethanol, fewer than 30 locations give consumers have the choice to purchase fuel blended with different levels of ethanol. Blender pumps allow consumers to determine what percentage of gasoline and ethanol they would like to purchase for their vehicle. When visiting the fueling station, consumers are able to select a variety of fuels, including E10 (10 percent ethanol, 90 percent gasoline), E20 (20 percent ethanol, 80 percent gasoline), or E85 (85 percent ethanol, 15 percent gasoline).

“Consumers should be given a choice,” said Joshua Morby, Executive Director of the WBIA. “Whether you want a gasoline blended with 10 percent ethanol for your boat or small engine, or you chose to purchase ethanol blended with 20 percent or 85 percent ethanol for your flex fuel vehicle, blender pumps give you those options. We’re working closely with our partners nationally to increase the number of blender pumps not only in Wisconsin but throughout the United States.”

“Blender pumps provide a better solution for retailers and for consumers, and is why their popularity is increasing both locally and nationally,” said Robert White, Director of Market Development for the Renewable Fuels Association. “This movement, just like those in the past, starts here in the Midwest. Wisconsin is setting an example for others to follow, providing more opportunity to advance the use of alternative fuels.”

Blender pumps have been used for years to blend and dispense unleaded and premium gasoline, giving customers access to several octane choices at the pump. Today blender pumps are providing a unique opportunity for gas stations to offer a whole range of ethanol blends, from E10 to E85 and anything in between.

Blender pumps typically utilize two underground tanks, one containing unleaded gasoline and one containing E85. In addition to offering unleaded, E10, and E85, the station owner can opt to offer mid-range ethanol blends like E20, E30, or E40. These mid-range blends are created when the pump mixes together the appropriate percentages of fuel from each underground tank.

“As petroleum retailers look at upgrades to their equipment, and as that industry faces the PCI compliance issue over the next 10 months, we want station owners to know about all of the programs and funding available to them, and how they can offer more ethanol blended choices to their customers,” said Ron Lamberty, the American Coalition for Ethanol’s vice president/market development. “They can still offer traditional choices like unleaded and E10, but the ability to give their customers E85 and any other blend of gasoline and ethanol without adding new storage tanks and lines prepares them for whatever blend the future might hold, and will set them on the forefront of retail fuel marketing.”

The ACE/RFA National Blender Pump Program has the goal to establish 5,000 blender pumps in the next three years. ACE and RFA are partnering with many of the state corn grower organizations, and have already begun laying the initial groundwork for this effort.