Plan to Install Ethanol Pumps at QuikTrip Dropped

WICHITA, Kan. -- The state of Kansas has abandoned its plan to install flex-fuel ethanol pumps at QuikTrip locations, according to a Wichita Business Journal report. The project, which the state proposed to the U.S. Department of Energy in July, would have added the pumps to 38 of the convenience store chain's Wichita-area locations.

The state intended to use $5 million of federal stimulus money for the installations, partnering with Wichita-based Ethanol Products Inc., which would have invested $10 million and assisted with the conversion, according to the project application.

The Kansas Department of Commerce stated in a Sept. 13 news conference that the companies involved in the project had decided not to follow through with the plans "because of uncertain regulatory requirements not related to ARAA funding," according to the report.

The state reported that it will instead put the $20.5 million in unspent stimulus funds toward two other energy projects: a $4.9 million investment to support biomass harvesting and a $15.6 million investment in the purchase of biomethane digester equipment for a Western Plains Energy-operated facility near Oakley, Kansas.

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