NewGen Fuel opened the first renewable fuel blender pump station in the U.S. in Topeka, Kan., on Jan.28.

Kansas Secretary of Agriculture Adrian Polansky also announced on Jan. 28 in a news release that he is making permanent the guidelines his department developed for the NewGen Fuel pilot project to allow at-the-pump blending of biofuels.

ICM Inc., Crescent Oil Company and POET collaborated on creating NewGen Fuel, and opening the station that offers E10, E20, E30, E50 and E85 fuel through blender pump technology, widening options for local flex fuel vehicle owners. Most Kansas stations that sell ethanol fuel only offer E10 and E85 blends.

“This is a real boon for owners of flexible fuel vehicles who want more choice,” Polansky stated.

Furthermore, the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Agriculture have found in some preliminary studies that E15 and E20 blends may be used in non-flex fuel vehicles. Currently, ethanol blends above 10 percent are approved for use only in flex-fuel vehicles, but the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has recently indicated to NewGen Fuel that it may consider approving a waiver for the E15 and E20 blends.

Goodnight said the company will pursue additional stations in Oklahoma, Kan., and Missouri, and is considering more than 100 new locations before the end of the year, with more than 1,000 to open over the next five years.

Goodnight estimated that the Topeka station will sell about 16,200 gallons of ethanol blended fuel per month, which is 15 percent of the 108,000-gallon national average for total monthly fuel sales per station.

The decision to open the first blender pump station in Kan., a state that is part of the Midwest corridor where the majority of corn crops are produced, was based on the mutual locations of all three of the companies’ operations, he said.

Crescent Oil and ICM Inc. are both based in Kan., as is POET’s marketing group.

“We’re all based here in the heart of agriculture, and renewable fuels do so much for our nation’s agriculture,” Goodnight said.

He said opening the stations will create jobs in ethanol production and in the retail segment, in turn ensuring that the U.S. agriculture industry stays “busy and vibrant.”

Mark Parkinson, Kansas Lieutenant Governor, echoed that sentiment in statements released by NewGen Fuel prior to the grand opening.

“We can address the immediate need of spurring the economy by creating more jobs in the renewable energy sector,” Parkinson said. “It is fitting for today’s joint venture…to happen here in America’s heartland.”