The National Corn Growers Association praised by the bipartisan Clean Fuels Deployment Act of 2020 introduced by reps from Kansas, Iowa, Minnesota and Nebraska Wednesday.
The bill incentivizes the deployment of fueling infrastructure for ethanol blends greater than 10 percent and biodiesel blends greater than 20 percent.
Overall, the bill would give way to $500 million in funding over a five-year stretch to help retailers offer higher ethanol blends and expanded support of biodiesel fuel markets. Additionally, the legislation will alongside the Renewable Fuel Standard to accelerate growth and open new economic opportunities for America’s farmers.
“A vital market for corn farmers, ethanol producers have idled nearly half of their production capacity due to the fallout from COVID-19. Spurring new demand for higher ethanol blends will be an important part of an economic recovery for the ethanol industry and farmers, and this infrastructure deployment will help support that growth,” a release from the NCGA said.
The bill was worked on by Reps. Abby Fineknauer (D-Iowa), Angie Craig (D-MN), Don Bacon (R-NE) and Roger Marshall (R-KS). NCGA President Kevin Ross thanked them in a statement and also stressed the importance of growing the market for higher blends of ethanol.
“Expanding infrastructure for higher blends will help to increase future demand for farmers and ensure biofuels will continue to be included in federal efforts to provide consumers with cleaner, affordable fuels,” he said.