B20 Club member Village of Arlington Heights awarded HBIIP funds to update biodiesel pumps

One B20 Club member was recently awarded with a grant from the USDA Higher Blends Infrastructure Incentive Program thanks to a partnership with the B20 Club, Illinois Soybean Association, and American Lung Association.

The Village of Arlington Heights secured $37,500 in funds through the HBIIP program to replace its B20 pumps with modern pumps that will enable departments to dispense B20, DEF, and gasoline from a single dispenser. The Public Works Department has been using a B20 blend of biodiesel year-round since 2007.

“We are pleased to continue our efforts to reduce emissions, lower our carbon footprint, and protect the health of our employees and residents with the installation of new dispensing equipment for DEF and B20,” said Ray Salisbury, fleet services foreman for the Village of Arlington Heights.

According to the USDA, the purpose of HBIIP is to significantly increase the sales and use of higher blends of ethanol and biodiesel by expanding the infrastructure for renewable fuels derived from U.S. agricultural products. The program is also intended to encourage a more comprehensive approach to market higher blends by sharing the costs related to building out biofuel-related infrastructure.

“The B20 Club was proud to partner with the Village of Arlington Heights to secure infrastructure funding for the installation of state-of-the-art alternative fuel dispensing equipment under the USDA’s Higher Blends Infrastructure Incentive Program,” said Bailey Arnold, senior manager of clean air initiatives with the American Lung Association and ISA’s lead for the B20 Club. “The Village’s year-round use of B20 provides measurable health and environmental benefits, including an estimated $8,300 in healthcare savings and carbon reduction equivalent to planting more than 1,750 trees every year.”

The Village of Arlington Heights joined the B20 Club in March of 2016.

A partnership between the Illinois Soybean Association (ISA) and the American Lung Association, the B20 Club recognizes a select group of Illinois-based organizations with strong commitments to run fleets on biodiesel blends of 20 percent or greater. For more information on the B20 Club, visit www.b20club.org.

The Illinois Soybean Association checkoff and membership programs represent more than 43,000 soybean farmers in Illinois. The checkoff funds market development and utilization efforts while the membership program supports the government relations interests of Illinois soybean farmers at the local, state, and national level, through the Illinois Soybean Growers. ISA upholds the interests of Illinois soybean producers through promotion, advocacy, and education with the vision of becoming a market leader in sustainable soybean production and profitability. For more information, visit the website www.ilsoy.org.