LANSING – Michigan now ranks 11th among all states in production of ethanol fuel, but Gov. Jennifer Granholm declared this week her goal of taking the state to the top, beginning with four new ethanol plants now planned or under construction.
Granholm made her remarks at a Capitol grounds ceremony hailing a new partnership between General Motors Corporation and Meijers to expand the number of ethanol fuel stations and ethanol-using vehicles on the road.
Meijer Stores will make 20 of its stations E-85 fueling stations – fuels that contain at least 85 percent based on agricultural products – and GM plans to produce another 400,000 flex-fuel vehicles capable of using either gasoline or ethanol or both. Only five stations around the state now sell the fuel, which can be used by flex-fuel vehicles. GM also provided the state with a flex-fuel Chevrolet Tahoe as part of the campaign to promote ethanol and vehicles using E-85.
“Michigan will be the state that breaks the United States’ dependency on foreign oil,” Ms. Granholm said.
Alternative energy is one of the target areas for the state’s new 21st Century Jobs Fund. Additionally two packages of bills – one already passed by the House and the other pending on the Senate floor – would provide several tax incentives and grants to encourage construction of new stations offering alternative fuels, convert existing stations, and on purchases of E-85 fuel and biodiesel.
One ethanol plant is operating in Caro and four more, with a total investment of $350 million, are expected to open soon.
Management and Budget Director Lisa Webb Sharpe said the state has about 1,800 vehicles capable of running on ethanol, or about 20 percent of the total fleet, and will acquire about 400-500 more this year. The State Police will be adding 100 flex fuel Chevrolet Tahoes. The state has been adding ethanol-capable vehicles to its fleet since the early 1990s.
Rep. Neal Nitz (R-Baroda), sponsor of one part of a six-bill alternative fuels package that has passed the House, urged the governor to back higher state funding for development of an infrastructure needed to handle and market the new fuels. He said the program needs to be fully funded with $500,000 from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, rather than just $200,000 in proposed federal funds this year.
“Michigan is late to the dance and cannot be a competitive leader in renewable fuels if we don’t have the revenue and incentives to put in the gas pumps to fuel the 650,000 flex-fuel vehicles GM and Ford are producing in this year alone,” he said.
The ethanol-incentive bills on the Senate floor are SB 1074, SB 1075, SB 1076, SB 1077, SB 1078 and SB 1079. The House-passed bills are HB 5181, HB 5751, HB 5752, HB 5753, HB 5754 and HB 5755.
This story was provided by Gongwer News Service. To subscribe, click on Gongwer.Com
