Sioux Falls welcomes city’s first ethanol blender pump

SIOUX FALLS – Motorists in Sioux Falls will now have more fuel choices at the pump, thanks to the installation of four new ethanol blender pumps at the Kings Mart gas station, located at the corner of Cliff Avenue and Benson Road.

Through a joint effort of the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) and the South Dakota Corn Utilization Council (SDCUC), the station now offers a variety of fuel blends including unleaded gasoline and E10, and E30 and E85 for Flexible Fuel Vehicles (FFVs).

“This is the first location in Sioux Falls to offer a blend of 30 percent ethanol for FFV owners,” said Ron Lamberty, Vice President / Market Development for ACE. “The important investments made by the owners of King’s Mart, and the South Dakota Corn Utilization Council with the assistance of ACE and the BYO Ethanol campaign, have provided consumers with another ethanol fueling option in Sioux Falls."

“This a huge accomplishment for the corn and ethanol industry to unveil a blender pump in Sioux Falls. Corn farmers take great pride in helping to produce over a billion gallons of ethanol in our great state, and installing infrastructure like this moves our industry in the right direction,” said David Fremark, President of the South Dakota Corn Utilization Council.

ACE is the nation’s largest ethanol advocacy association and has worked with petroleum marketers for 10 years through its nationwide market development program. In 2009, the “Blend Your Own Ethanol” campaign was launched as a partnership between ACE, the Renewable Fuels Association, and leading corn-producing states such as South Dakota, as well as the National Corn Growers Association. The BYO campaign works to show gas station owners the benefits of blending ethanol and using blender pumps to provide choices for motorists.

"There were challenges with suppliers and regulators, who all had legitimate questions, and with the help of the equipment company and the owners of Kings Mart, we got those details worked out,” Lamberty added. “Now motorists in Sioux Falls have more choices when they fuel their vehicles.”

Blender pumps are not new to the fuel industry, but are finding new use with E85. The pumps feature two underground tanks, one with unleaded and one with E85, and the pump can blend the two together to create a variety of fuel choices for consumers. Gas station owners benefit by being able to offer more choices in the same footprint of a traditional gas pump, and by being prepared for future blends approved for use in all vehicles.

The Sioux Falls blender pump location joins 40 other locations across South Dakota and around 150 nationwide. A map of blender pump sites can be viewed at www.tinyurl.com/ACEblenderpumpmap. The nation’s first blender pumps are said to be those at 4-Seasons Co-op in Britton, SD and at Sioux Valley Co-op in Watertown, SD.

“Ultimately we need to shift the power to decide what fuels motorists use away from government agencies and oil companies and back to the consumer,” said Brian Jennings, Executive Vice President for ACE. “We support maximum consumer choice for motorists to use their choice of E10, E15, E20, E30, E85, or ethanol-free gasoline, and we believe that when consumers are finally given these meaningful choices they will select the ethanol-blended fuels that work best in their vehicles.

Tags: daily updates, sioux falls, south dakota, ethanol blender pump, gas station, ethanol