Sandra’s Quick Stop in Garnett, Kansas is celebrating the addition of several blender pumps that will offer consumers the choice to fill up with higher ethanol blends with Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback as a guest of honor.
The retail station, located at the junction of Highway 169 and Highway 59, is hosting a pump promotion on Thursday, November 10, 2016 from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm. Fuel discounts will be offered: drivers will get 15 cents off E15 fuel; 30 cents off E30 fuel; and E85 fuel will be sold for 85 cents per gallon.
“This is about increasing the motorists’ choices when they fill up,” said store owner Sandra Zook. “If you want to use regular unleaded or premium fuel, that’s great, but now you have access to E15 if you have a vehicle 2001 or newer, and E30 and E85 if you have a flex fuel vehicle.”
Staff from East Kansas Agri-Energy (EKAE), Kansas Corn and the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) will be at the event to answer questions about E15 fuel that is approved for all vehicles 2001 and newer, as well as E30 and E85 that can be used in flex fuel vehicles. In addition there will be free food, along with Kansas Lottery promotions and gift cards for veterans, sponsored by the RFA and EKAE.
“With E15, you’re getting a higher octane fuel for a lower cost,” EKAE President and CEO Jeff Oestman noted. “Ethanol is a homegrown fuel that helps our local economies and reduces our reliance on foreign oil, which is important to a veteran like me.”
Kansas Corn CEO Greg Krissek added, “This blender pump grant program is intended to add ethanol choices at high-volume fuel stations like Sandra’s. Our program is expanding the availability of ethanol blender pumps. We’ve also added three stations in Wichita, and more stations are in the works.”
The new fueling infrastructure was paid for in part with a grant from the USDA’s Biofuels Infrastructure program via the Kansas Better Blends Initiative that is providing $2.3 million in funds for Kansas fuel retailers to add ethanol blender pumps. The Kansas Corn Commission is implementing the program.