WASHINGTON (CN) — The U.S. Department of Agriculture has awarded $19 million in grants funding an effort to increase the availability of domestic biofuels.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Thursday announced the grants, which will help fund biofuel projects in 22 states.

“By increasing the supply of biofuels made here in the U.S., we are strengthening our energy independence, lowering costs for American families, creating new streams of income for agricultural producers and bringing good-paying jobs to people in rural communities,” Vilsack said in a statement.

The money is part of the Higher Blends Infrastructure Incentive Program, which was funded under the Inflation Reduction Act. The program supports blending ethanol into gasoline, which the USDA said reduces fuel costs by 25%.

The announcement comes as the Biden administration tries to balance its clean energy goals against the rising costs of gasoline. President Joe Biden is seeking to limit fossil fuel production and eliminate U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, but domestic oil production reached an all-time high in 2023.

Asked about the contrast between Biden’s goals and this reality, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre highlighted impacts for consumers. The price per gallon is averaging under $3 in half of U.S. states, she noted.

“One of the things we’ve worked really hard on, as we talk about oil production, is making sure that gas prices go down,” Jean-Pierre said Thursday. “That is something that we’ve seen over the past couple of months.”

The grant program provides money to owners of fueling stations and distribution facilities in order to expand access to domestic biofuels, which USDA calls “a clean and affordable source of energy.” The money will support installation and upgrading of infrastructure such as fuel pumps, dispensers and storage tanks.

For example, the Iowa-based convenience-store chain Casey’s will use a $5 million grant to install ethanol blend fuel dispensers at 111 stations in Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska and South Dakota. The money will increase the amount of biofuels supplied by the company by 50 million gallons a year.

Officials said expanded use of ethanol-based fuels will allow more drivers to benefit from lower prices at the pump. Grant applications will be accepted for the next three quarters, with the program ending Sept. 30.

Among the states benefiting from this round of funding are Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas and Wisconsin.