New Fuel Terminal Promises New Impact for Farmers

On May 7, the Kansas Soybean Commission attended a ribbon cutting for the newly renovated Blue River Valley fuel terminal, which was retrofitted with blending capabilities for biofuels. With an 800,000 gallon biodiesel storage tank on site, the facility expects to go through 50,000 to 75,000 gallons of biodiesel per month.

Fuel terminals store and distribute large quantities of petroleum products, such as gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel. These facilities serve as critical links between refineries and end-users, receiving fuel and distributing it to tanker trucks for final delivery to retail stations.

“Biodiesel availability at the wholesale level has been a major barrier in the supply chain, keeping retail stations from being able to stock it,” says Kaleb Little, KSC administrator. “Blue River Valley, a fuel terminal with biodiesel blending capabilities in a major metro area where biodiesel is also produced, will allow more biodiesel to end up in the system locally. This new facility will guarantee that more biodiesel ends up in Kansas fuel tanks.”

 Senator Roger Marshall cut the ribbon at the facility, noting the boost it signifies for Kansas farmers.

“I think it’s important to all America,” he says. “Like I said, starting off at the consumer level, it’s going to be a cheaper fuel, it’s going to be less pollution, there’s less tailpipe emission from the biofuels, from the ethanol products as well. But it’s especially important to the Kansas farmer.”

Phil Near, who acquired the facility and began renovating it in 2021, echoes Marshall, saying, “When farmers do well, the community does well.”