The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced the 21 states that will receive grants through its Biofuels Infrastructure Partnership (BIP), which aims to support and expand biofuel infrastructure.

Through BIP, USDA will award competitive grants, matched by states, to expand the infrastructure for distribution of higher blends of ethanol, such as E15 and E85. Since announcing the program in May, the USDA has received applications requesting over $130 million, outpacing the $100 million that is available.

With a more than 1:1 match from private and state resources, the USDA estimates that the BIP grants will support nearly 5,000 pumps at over 1,400 fueling stations across the country. The USDA estimates that this investment will more than double the number of stations that offer intermediate blends of ethanol, mainly E15 fuel levels, nationwide.

A typical gas pump delivers fuel with 10 percent ethanol, which limits the amount of renewable energy most consumers can purchase at the pump.

The agency will fund the grants through the USDA's Commodity Credit Corporation, which was created to stabilize, support, and protect farm income and prices.

Click here for a preliminary list of state finalists and estimated pumps. Funding amounts for each state will be announced at a later date, according to the USDA