Improving Infrastructure

Improving Infrastructure

Improving Infrastructure. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Line On Agriculture.

One the key issues in ramping up the use of ethanol is the simple fact that the infrastructure is not in place to handle the blending of ethanol with gasoline. The Obama Administration recognizes this and recently the President outlined an approach to allow a cleaner, safer and more secure energy future according to Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack.

VILSACK: And he outline a vision that he believes and I believe will set us on a path that ultimately breaks our dependence on foreign oil and moves the nation toward a clean energy economy. This plan and this path will help to create jobs and keep America very competitive. The President set some ambitious goals but they’re achievable, among them by 2025 we’re going to reduce our net imports of oil by 1/3 from foreign countries.

He says that biofuels holds a great deal of promise to replace foreign oil.

VILSACK: Biofuels holds a tremendous promise to replace foreign oil. At the same time it also has the capacity to help create hundreds of thousands of jobs across the rural parts of this country. And that’s why at USDA we set out a comprehensive strategy for how we will work with our sister federal agencies and departments as well as other states and private businesses to build a national renewable biofuels industry.

They have established 5 regional research centers to work on biofuels production.

VILSACK: We’re also investing in the construction of biofuels production facilities. The President has instructed us to at least break ground on 4 of those facilities in the next 18 months and we’re helping to build out the infrastructure that’s necessary to get biofuel to American’s gas tanks across the country. Today there are more than 8-million so called flex-fuel vehicles, cars and trucks that run on a mix of gas and 85% ethanol.

The biggest problem for these flex-fuel vehicle owners according to Vilsack is having access to the necessary fuel.

VILSACK: There are over 110-thousand gas stations in the country today but only 2300 provide E85 pumping and distribution systems. The President has directed us to work hard over the next several years to try to increase the number of flexible fuel  pumps nationwide by at least 10-thousand. This will give consumers a choice in the fuel they’re using so today I’m announcing that USDA is taking steps to make it easier for service stations owners to finance flexible fuel pumps.

More tomorrow on the announcement.

That’s today’s Line On Agriculture. I’m Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.

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