Grand Opening held for Sioux Falls’ first blender pump

Consumer fueling choices were officially expanded today as the first Sioux Falls blender pumps were recognized by Congressional and state leadership during a grand opening event.

The Kings Mart gas station, located at the corner of Cliff Avenue and Benson Road, is the first fueling location in Sioux Falls to install blender pumps allowing consumers to choose mid-level blends of ethanol. The Kings Mart blender pumps were installed in January 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).

To mark the historic occasion, Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin participated in the grand opening, offering support for expanding infrastructure for higher blends of American-made fuel.

"In order to achieve the goals the country set for itself in the Renewable Fuels Standard, I believe we must do more to speed the installation of blender pumps and other infrastructure, like renewable fuel pipelines, to serve communities nationwide. I'm proud to stand with the American Coalition for Ethanol and South Dakota Corn Utilization Council today as part of that effort," Rep. Herseth Sandlin said. "Going forward, I'll continue my work to help the private sector install the blender pumps that are needed across the nation to provide greater consumer access to clean-burning, homegrown ethanol, and reduce our dependence on foreign oil."

The Kings Mart featured special fueling promotions from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., following the ribbon cutting event. Motorists lined up to take advantage of discounted prices for ethanol blended fuels at the station: E10, which can be used by all makes and models of vehicles, was discounted 10 cent per gallon during the 3-hour promotion. In addition, the higher blends of ethanol for flex-fuel vehicles were discounted 30 cents a gallon for E30 and 85 cents a gallon off of E85 fuel.

“We have always supported giving motorists the ability to select E10, E85, other blends like E10 or E15, or even ethanol-free gasoline. In every market where ethanol has been added, it has become the fuel of choice, and we expect the same thing to happen when these new higher blends more widely available, said Ron Lamberty, Vice President and Director of Market Development for ACE. “When consumers are finally given these meaningful choices, we’re confident they will select the ethanol-blended fuels that work best in their vehicles.”

For corn farmers in South Dakota the blender pumps represent a vision by farmers to create opportunities for expanded markets for their growing production of corn.

“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 SDCUC. “South Dakota has led the nation in developing infrastructure for higher blends of ethanol and we congratulate Kings Mart for being the first to offer greater access to consumer fueling choices in Sioux Falls.”