US program seeks to increase use of E-85 fuel

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced an effort to increase the production and use of a higher blend of ethanol fuel.

Under the plan announced today, the federal government will offer financial incentives for gas stations to install more pumps that provide gas blended with 85 percent ethanol.

Vilsack says the goal is to add 10,000 flex-fuel pumps across the country over the next five years.

Vilsack was to have formally announced the plan today at a plant in Greensboro, N.C., that makes pumps that dispense the higher blend fuel known as E-85. The trip was canceled because of the ongoing budget talks in Washington D.C. and Vilsack made the announcement in a conference call from Washington.