The Higher Blends Infrastructure Incentive Program (HBIIP): An Overview

Contents

• Introduction
• Biofuels
• HB Fuel Consumption and Infrastructure
• The Higher Blends Infrastructure Incentive Program
• Program Overview
• Funding
• Award Administration
• Selected Actions Under the Second Trump Administration (2025 Through June 2026)
• Issues for Congress
• Program Funding and Outlays
• Program Implementation
• Program Awards
• Program Communication
• Staffing
• General Considerations

Summary

Biofuels—fuels made from biomass—have been used in the United States as a transportation fuel for decades. Ethanol produced from corn starch and biodiesel produced from soybean oil are two examples of biofuels used in vehicles. In most cases, these biofuels when used as transportation fuel in vehicles are blended with their petroleum fuel counterpart at a low level. In general, low-blend fuel (LB fuel) includes ethanol blended at a rate of 10% or lower (e.g., E10) and biodiesel blended at a rate of 5% or lower (e.g., B5). High-blend fuel (HB fuel) includes biofuel blended at a higher rate, such as ethanol blended at a rate greater than 10% (e.g., E15, a fuel blend of gasoline blended with 10.5-15% ethanol).

The Higher Blends Infrastructure Incentive Program (HBIIP) is an initiative created by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in 2020 to increase the sales and use of higher blends of ethanol and biodiesel. HBIIP funding has mostly come from the USDA Commodity Credit Corporation. However, under the law commonly known as the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (P.L. 117-169), Congress provided $500 million to HBIIP for "installing, retrofitting, or otherwise upgrading fuel dispensers or pumps," among other investments.

One HB fuel that HBIIP supports, E15, receives considerable attention in the 119^th Congress:

• In May 2026, the House passed H.R. 1346, the Nationwide Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act of 2025, which would, in part, allow for the year-round sale of E15.
• In September 2026, the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry reported out of committee S. 5526, the Agricultural Act of 2026, which would also allow for the year-round sale of E15.

The second Trump Administration has taken several actions related to HBIIP, including the freezing of funds for HBIIP and releasing obligated funding for HBIIP for projects. Regarding E15, in the June 2026 supplemental funding request to Congress, the Trump Administration requested "an urgent and needed fix that codifies the permanent, year-round sale of E-15."

Congress may have questions about HBIIP and choose to conduct oversight of the program. For example, Congress may want to know more about the value received from HBIIP, program funding and implementation going forward, if there are environmental impacts associated with the use of HB fuel, monitoring nationwide HB fuel use, transportation fuel projections that could impact biofuel markets, and more. Alternatively, Congress may choose to take no action.

Introduction

Congress has discussed high-blend fuel (HB fuel) and has provided support for HB fueling infrastructure.¹ In short, a biofuel is a fuel (e.g., ethanol, biodiesel, biogas) produced from a biomass feedstock (e.g., crops, tree residue, animal waste, food waste) that can be used for transportation (e.g., cars, aviation). Typically, for most applications, biofuel has been blended at a low level with its petroleum counterpart for use in vehicles as a transportation fuel. For this report, low-blend fuel (LB fuel) includes ethanol blended at a rate of 10% or lower (e.g., E10) and biodiesel blended at a rate of 5% or lower (e.g., B5).² The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) reports that the "most common blend of ethanol is E10 (10% ethanol, 90% gasoline)."³ And, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reports that "almost all gasoline are E10 blends."⁴ In general, an HB fuel is a biofuel-petroleum fuel mixture with biofuel blended at a higher rate, such as ethanol blended at a rate greater than 10% (e.g., E15, a fuel blend of gasoline blended with 10.5-15% ethanol).

One type of HB fuel that has received attention from Congress is E15, gasoline blended with 10.5-15% ethanol.⁵ In January 2026, the House established the E-15 Rural Domestic Energy Council (Council) to investigate the sale of E15, among other actions.⁶ In May 2026, the House passed H.R. 1346, the Nationwide Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act of 2025, which would, in part, allow for the year-round sale of E15.⁷ In a supplemental funding request sent to Congress in June 2026, the Trump Administration requested "an urgent and needed fix that codifies the permanent, year-round sale of E-15."⁸ In September 2026, the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry reported out of committee S. 5526, the Agricultural Act of 2026, which would also allow for the year-round sale of E15.⁹

Congress has considered the year-round sale of E15 previously. Congress included a provision for the permanent year-round sale of E15 in a short-term FY2025 spending bill introduced in the House in December 2024 (H.R. 10445; 118^th Congress), but it was removed from the FY2025 continuing resolution package that became law (P.L. 118-158).

Congress has taken action to both revoke and issue federal funding for HB fueling infrastructure (e.g., blender pumps).¹⁰ For example, the Agricultural Act of 2014 (2014 farm bill; P.L. 113-79) precludes the use of Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) funding for any mechanism for dispensing energy at the retail level (e.g., ethanol-gasoline blender pumps).¹¹ Conversely, the law commonly known as the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (P.L. 117-169) provided $500 million to the Higher Blends Infrastructure Incentive Program (HBIIP) for "installing, retrofitting, or otherwise upgrading fuel dispensers or pumps," among other investments.

HBIIP is an initiative led by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to "increase significantly the sales and use of higher blends of ethanol and biodiesel."¹² In 2025, the Trump Administration froze funding for HBIIP and then announced it would release obligated funding under the program.¹³ In 2026, the Trump Administration announced that "[f]unds for the program have now been exhausted, and USDA will not be making further obligations absent future appropriation."¹⁴

This report provides an overview of HBIIP and HB fuel usage and infrastructure costs and contains questions Congress may consider in its oversight of HBIIP.

Biofuels

Biofuels are liquid fuels and blending components produced from biomass feedstocks, used primarily for transportation.¹⁵ The two leading biofuels produced and used for transportation in the United States are ethanol and biomass-based diesel.¹⁶ LB fuel is approved for use in light-duty vehicles by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and vehicle manufacturers.¹⁷ HB fuels include higher blends of "ethanol (i.e., greater than 10 percent ethanol) and biodiesel (greater than 5 percent biodiesel)."¹⁸ The approval to use HB fuels in light-duty vehicles can vary by fuel type, vehicle model year, and vehicle manufacturer.¹⁹

In general, infrastructure required for HB fuel is the same type of infrastructure required for LB fuel (e.g., fuel dispenser, underground storage tank), but the HB fueling infrastructure is constructed specifically to endure the composition of HB fuel.²⁰ In short, not all vehicles on the road are certified by their vehicle manufacturer to use HB fuel, and not all fueling stations have the required infrastructure to sell HB fuel.

Both corn-starch ethanol and biomass-based diesel are established biofuels that can be blended into conventional fuel (i.e., petroleum fuel). For several years, production, consumption, and logistics for these fuels have been traditionally centered on low percentage levels (i.e., 10% ethanol and 5% biodiesel). In current LB fuel markets, industry knows how to produce the biofuel, the infrastructure exists to get the LB fuel to market, and consumers know that their vehicle manufacturer has approved the use of the LB fuel. Corn-starch ethanol and biomass-based diesel may be blended into conventional fuel at a higher rate. Using these biofuels at higher-blend rates could require different infrastructure and may raise some questions by lawmakers, consumers, and others.²¹

The predicament, mainly for biofuel supporters, is adapting the existing infrastructure—potentially nationwide—to use HB fuel.²² This might require, at a minimum, legislative and regulatory changes (depending on the HB fuel), funding (e.g., private funding, federal appropriations), administrative support (e.g., program staff to issue federal funding, technical expertise to install the infrastructure), and a willingness by industry and consumers to do so (e.g., a station owner who will upgrade their equipment, a consumer who will purchase an HB fuel). It remains unclear whether federal involvement and investment would encourage fueling station owners and others to upgrade their infrastructure to handle HB fuel and motivate consumers to purchase HB fuel.

HB fuel brings opportunities and challenges. Increased production of biomass feedstocks and biofuels could stimulate certain rural economies and segments of the agricultural sector. Conversely, if consumers were to purchase additional amounts of HB fuels, the increased demand could cause competition for feedstocks, interrupt feedstock pricing, and raise environmental concerns, among other issues.

Some HB fuels face circumstances unique to the biofuel blend type. For example, for ethanol, consumers may consider the energy content and engine performance of the HB fuel (e.g., E15). Ethanol has a lower energy content than gasoline yet a higher octane rating than gasoline.²³ Consumers choosing to use HB fuel may consider fuel economy and performance, among other factors.

HB Fuel Consumption and Infrastructure

It is not clear how much HB fuel is consumed in the United States annually.²⁴ Due to variations in fuel mixtures (e.g., E15, E20, E85, B20), infrastructure capacity, vehicle manufacturer requirements, and state regulations—and for other reasons—it is difficult to ascertain nationwide consumption trends for HB fuel using publicly available data.²⁵

Some states and stakeholders monitor HB fuel consumption, but their observations are generally focused on specific HB fuel(s) and/or a particular region. For example, the Iowa state government prepares an annual report of fuel gallons sold or dispensed in Iowa.²⁶ The report contains a table that provides Iowa gasoline, diesel, and biofuel sales for 2025, as reported by retailers, including 870.7 million gallons of E10, 410.1 million gallons of E15, 0.9 million gallons of E20, and 24.0 million gallons of E85.²⁷ The annual report also states that "ethanol blends of E15 or higher constituted 27 percent of all gasoline sold or dispensed in 2025."²⁸

It is also not clear how many fueling stations sell HB fuel. This is partly due to the variety of HB fuels that can be sold. Some data are available for certain HB fuels, but comprehensive data are not available. For example, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) reports that more than 3,000 fueling stations sell E15, and more than 4,200 fueling stations sell E85.²⁹ DOE also provides the number of public and private biodiesel fueling station locations by state that offer HB fuel of B20 or higher.³⁰ For example, DOE reports Illinois has 490 such public biodiesel fueling stations.³¹ The fueling stations that sell HB fuel are a small fraction of the total number of fueling stations located in the United States. For example, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory reports there were 142,000 conventional refueling stations in 2020.³²

The cost of equipping a fueling station to sell HB fuel varies.³³ Infrastructure costs are facility-specific depending on what HB fuel will be sold and what equipment the station may need to upgrade to sell HB fuel. DOE reports there are approximately 60 pieces of equipment at a fueling station that handle fuel and vapor, some of which are below ground.³⁴ Station owners interested in selling an HB fuel might inspect their fueling station equipment to determine what equipment may be compatible and what equipment would need to be upgraded, and may also take into consideration the design life of the existing equipment and consumer demand, among other things, before making a decision to upgrade or not upgrade their equipment to sell an HB fuel.

Using ethanol as an example, USDA reports that "[w]hile virtually all stations have equipment necessary for storing and dispensing E10, it is difficult to discern how many have fueling equipment compatible with ethanol blends above E10."³⁵ USDA reports the costs, as calculated by researchers with the U.S. DRIVE Partnership, under various conversion scenarios for a station to sell different ethanol-gasoline fuel blends.³⁶ As of 2019, the individual equipment station upgrade costs for E11-E25 fuel ranged from approximately $21,000 for a light conversion scenario to $379,000 for an extensive conversion scenario.³⁷

EPA has taken actions pertaining to HB fueling infrastructure. In 2021, EPA released a proposed rule to, in part, make "changes to E15 fuel dispenser labeling requirements" and "to modify underground storage tank (UST) regulations to accommodate the safe storage of E15 and higher gasoline-ethanol blends at retail stations' existing tank systems."³⁸ EPA reports that "the chemical and physical properties of biobased fuels, such as ethanol and biodiesel, can be more degrading to certain UST system materials than petroleum alone."³⁹ EPA also acknowledges the growth in biofuels over time and the fuel waivers EPA issued allowing for the sale of E15 in the summer, and EPA thus proposed "a requirement that UST systems installed, or UST equipment and components replaced, must be constructed with equipment and components compatible with ethanol blends up to 100 percent."⁴⁰ EPA has not yet issued the final rule.⁴¹

The Higher Blends Infrastructure Incentive Program

Program Overview

HBIIP, a USDA initiative created in 2020, aims to "increase significantly the sales and use of higher blends of ethanol and biodiesel" and "is intended to encourage a more comprehensive approach to marketing higher blends by sharing the costs related to building out biofuel-related infrastructure."⁴² HBIIP awards cost-share grants that assist transportation fueling and biodiesel distribution facilities with upgrading or installing new infrastructure to be compatible with high-blend ethanol and biodiesel (e.g., E15 fuel dispensers, B20 fuel dispensers, ethanol storage tanks, and biodiesel storage tanks).⁴³ USDA reports that consideration will also be given to biodiesel terminal operations and home heating oil distribution centers.⁴⁴

HBIIP has been mentioned in the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions (unified agenda).⁴⁵ According to the Fall 2023 unified agenda, HBIIP is "intended to encourage a more comprehensive approach to market higher blends by sharing the costs related to building out biofuel-related infrastructure."⁴⁶ The Fall 2023 unified agenda also states that the USDA Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBCS) implements the program and that the "underlying statutes authorizing RBCS to create these regulations are 5 U.S.C. 301 and 7 U.S.C. 1989."⁴⁷ According to a 2026 unified agenda entry for HBIIP, RCBS intends on "proposing a rule to codify the policies and procedures for the program in the Code of Federal Regulations" and "intends to conduct public engagement to hear from stakeholders and potential applicants about what they would like to see in the regulation."⁴⁸

Funding

HBIIP funding comes from the USDA Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC).⁴⁹ The program received $500 million in supplemental funding from the law commonly known as the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA; P.L. 117-169).⁵⁰ The funding is statutorily authorized in 7 U.S.C. §8103(i).⁵¹ Congress has not authorized or directly appropriated additional funding for the program since the IRA. USDA last issued a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for HBIIP in June 2023, establishing five consecutive quarterly application windows that accepted submissions starting July 1, 2023, through September 30, 2024, with the option for a sixth application window if funding was not exhausted.⁵² As of October 2026, USDA reports that "[f]unds for the program have now been exhausted, and the Department will not be making further obligations absent future appropriation."⁵³

Award Administration

USDA has released some award data for HBIIP (see Table 1). CRS estimates of HBIIP awards provided in Table 1 are not comprehensive, were derived from publicly available information, and may not reflect all HBIIP awards granted by USDA. The publicly released HBIIP award data announced in 2026 are less granular than the award data announced in prior years. In January 2025, USDA reported that "[t]o date, USDA has invested … more than $287 million in 345 projects through HBIIP that increase the availability of domestic biofuels across the country" and "[s]ince the start of the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA has invested … more than $323 million in 399 awards through HBIIP."⁵⁴ CRS estimates in Table 1 for HBIIP awards that USDA announced in 2020 through 2025 derived from publicly available information differ from what USDA reported on January 10, 2025.

The HBIIP awards announced in January 2025 give financial support for infrastructure (e.g., fuel pumps, dispensers, and storage tanks) that supports ethanol and biodiesel fuel mixtures, mostly in the forms of E15, E85, and B20.⁵⁵ The program also supports B100.⁵⁶ For example, there is a project focused on the infrastructure for a home heating oil distribution facility company (i.e., modify a storage tank to store B100 and blend B20) and a fleet facility company (i.e., install two B100 fuel dispensers and one B100 storage tank).⁵⁷

Selected Actions Under the Second Trump Administration (2025 Through June 2026)⁵⁸

In the first three months of the second Trump Administration, the White House froze funding for HBIIP, implemented USDA staffing changes, and reported that it had released obligated funding under HBIIP for projects. On January 20, 2025, President Trump issued Executive Order 14154, which paused the disbursement of funds appropriated through the IRA and required a review of the processes for issuing grants for programs funded by the IRA, among other things.⁵⁹ Also on January 20, 2025, President Trump ordered a hiring freeze for the executive branch and requested the creation of a federal hiring plan, among other things.⁶⁰ On March 31, 2025, the Trump Administration announced it would release approximately $537 million in obligated funding for HBIIP for 543 projects, including "new projects approved within the first 100 days of the Trump Administration".⁶¹

The second Trump Administration continues to take actions where the outcome to HBIIP is unclear. For example, it is not clear if the staffing changes at USDA will impact USDA's implementation of HBIIP.⁶² On June 17, 2026, USDA announced the reorganization of the Rural Development (RD) mission area, including for the RBCS, which administers HBIIP. USDA reported, "Select functions and positions with the Rural Business-Cooperative Service will relocate from the [National Capital Region] to Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, which will serve as the primary national hub for the agency's RBCS and RUS [Rural Utilities Service] loan and grant functions."⁶³ On July 24, 2025, USDA Secretary Rollins announced the reorganization of USDA.⁶⁴ Finally, on July 29, 2026, Secretary Rollins announced a USDA "100 Hires in 100 Days" initiative that will "recruit veterans, transitioning service members, and military spouses."⁶⁵

Issues for Congress

The Supreme Court has established that Congress has the power to conduct oversight of federal programs.⁶⁶ As such, Congress may or may not choose to assess past, current, and potentially future HBIIP administration by USDA. And Congress may or may not choose to consider HB fuel consumption rates, infrastructure costs, potential environmental impacts, and other issues related to HBIIP. Congress could choose to take no action. Alternatively, Congress could decide to explore the above-mentioned areas, and may consider the following questions and data requests, which are presented in no order of priority.⁶⁷

Program Funding and Outlays

• Request USDA provide a comprehensive funding and spending history for HBIIP for each fiscal year since FY2020, to include funding from the CCC, the IRA, and any other sources as well as unobligated funding, rescinded funding, and carryover funding.
• Request USDA provide the HBIIP funding amount, funding source, and funding announcement date USDA anticipates for future fiscal years, if any.⁶⁸

Program Implementation

• Request USDA summarize any new priorities and program implementation changes the Trump Administration has made regarding HBIIP, including the Administration's anticipated timeline for implementing any program changes, and specify how and when the Administration will communicate any changes to Congress and the public.
• Request USDA explain how or if it will consider program continuity in its administration of the program. For example, how will the Trump Administration carry out HBIIP if awards are issued and there is a sudden funding lapse or program personnel change so that awardees can continue their business operations and fulfill any commitments that may be dependent on the HBIIP award they received?
• What criteria will USDA use to measure the success of the program?
• How will USDA report HBIIP performance to Congress and how often?
• How much financial support will USDA provide for the program and for how long? Where will the financial support come from (e.g., the CCC)?

Program Awards

• Request USDA provide a list of HBIIP awards for each fiscal year granted under the second Trump Administration. For each award, list the award recipient, amount awarded, project location, project status, and project summary.⁶⁹
• Request USDA provide the current operational status of the infrastructure that was installed using HBIIP funds for each fiscal year since FY2020.
• Request USDA provide the value and volume of HB fuel annual sales for locations that installed infrastructure using HBIIP funds for each fiscal year since FY2020.

Program Communication

• Request USDA provide past written and oral HBIIP communications for each fiscal year since FY2020, to include announcements such as a notice of funding opportunity, award recipients, and other communications (e.g., Federal Register notices, press releases, stakeholder announcements, social media).
• Request USDA explain how and when it will provide communications about HBIIP, in written and oral form, to both Congress and the public (e.g., program alerts, listservs, webinars, a performance dashboard).

Staffing

• Request USDA provide the current HBIIP staffing chart and any significant changes from the past two years.
• Request USDA explain to what extent, if any, the USDA Rural Development relocation and reorganization will impact HBIIP.

General Considerations

• Is federal support needed for HB fueling infrastructure?
• Do fueling stations need financial support to invest in HB fueling infrastructure?⁷⁰
• What would happen, if anything, to the biofuel market and the HB fueling infrastructure market in the absence of HBIIP?
• What additional information about HBIIP is necessary for Congress to determine if HBIIP is influencing the HB fuels market?
• How could Congress determine if consumers want HB fuels? And if so, why do consumers want HB fuels? If not, why not?
• Are there environmental impacts associated with biofuels that should be considered?⁷¹
• Are some biofuels more environmentally friendly than other biofuels? If so, how should those more environmentally friendly biofuels contribute to any requested increase in HB fuel usage?
• Will support for HB fuel use in vehicles impact biofuels used for other transportation purposes (e.g., aviation)?⁷²
• How much gasoline will be consumed annually for the next 10 to 20 years?
• Should Congress codify HBIIP in statute?
• If Congress chooses to provide future appropriations for HBIIP, should Congress stipulate additional program goals (e.g., a minimum threshold of U.S. fueling stations will be equipped to sell E15, a target for annual E15 sales)?
• If Congress provides additional funding to HBIIP, how long will federal financial support be needed (e.g., the program is to be run annually for a maximum of five years)?
• If Congress chooses to fund HBIIP, what type of funding will it consider (e.g., discretionary appropriations or mandatory funding)?
• If Congress wants to support HB fueling infrastructure, are there better or more cost-effective ways to do so than HBIIP?
• What parts of the economy may improve due to the additional use of HB fuel? And what parts of the economy may be weakened?
• Is there a way to record nationwide consumption of HB fuel?
• Is there a way to record how much HB fuel is being used for home heating oil, vehicles, etc.?
• Is there enough biomass feedstock supply to support an increase in biofuel production for HB fuel? If not, what would be the effects on food prices, land used for agriculture versus other purposes, and other markets?
• If Congress further supports HB fueling infrastructure, what data could the federal government collect to measure program performance and effectiveness?
• What interaction effects would there be between HBIIP and other federal, state, and local programs?
• Are there current or expired state programs or tax incentives that should be taken into consideration (e.g., Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Tax Credit, Iowa Renewable Fuel Infrastructure Program)?⁷³ For instance, in August 2026, the Iowa state government reported that "the Renewable Fuels Infrastructure Program (RFIP) Board has approved more than $2 million in cost-share grants for 38 E15 and biodiesel infrastructure projects across Iowa."⁷⁴ Can and should the RFIP be replicated in more states nationwide?
• Should Congress assign the U.S. Government Accountability Office to evaluate the impact of the HBIIP investments made thus far?⁷⁵

Footnotes