S.D. Retailers Respond Positively to Blender Pump Grant Program

by Kris Bevill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Just two months after launching its latest blender pump grant program, South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard announced that the governor’s office of economic development (GOED) has already received applications for the entire $950,000 allotted to the first round of grants. The GOED began accepting applications on Jan. 9 and has so far awarded $755,000 to retailers in the state on a first-come, first-served basis. The remaining 20 percent of grants will be awarded on a competitive basis.

...One of the completed projects is located in Watertown, a city of about 20,000 people located in northeastern South Dakota. Dale Plunkett, owner of Tip Top Inc., said he applied for a grant on the first day the opportunity became available and was awarded $35,000 to offset the costs of installing two blender pumps at his station, a project which carried a total cost of about $500,000. He said the grant program was the deciding factor in choosing to install blender pumps and if it had not been available he would have opted to offer E10, regular unleaded and diesel instead. “Those pumps aren’t cheap, so small businesses need some help,” he said. The application process for blender pump grants was smooth, he said, and since bringing the blender pumps online in mid-January, he’s been pleased with the consumer response.

“We’re in corn country, so we’ve got quite a few E85 vehicles around here,” Plunkett said. “But something that has surprised me is that my biggest sellers are E20 and E30 rather than E85 or even regular unleaded.” Now that he has blender pumps at his station, Plunkett said he will “definitely” offer E15 to his customers as soon as it’s available.