INDIANAPOLIS -- General Motors (GM) said that it has facilitated plans for the addition of several new E85 ethanol fueling sites throughout Indiana through a partnership with mass retailer Meijer and the state of Indiana. GM has been the catalyst behind several similar partnerships across the country as part of a broader, national GM campaign to boost the use and awareness of ethanol-based E85 fuel in the United States.
The announcement was made yesterday during a ribbon cutting to celebrate the opening of an E85 ethanol pump at the [image-nocss] Meijer Pike Plaza 129 store. Governor Mitch Daniels and Lieutenant Governor Becky Skillman were on hand along with U.S. Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman.
Flexible-fuel vehicles and E85 are proven options for substituting a clean-burning renewable fuel for gasoline, and I believe it should be our common goal that E85 become a nationwide fueling option, Bodman said. Efforts like theseto educate the public and expand the network of stations that can deliver E85 fuelwill help us meet the President's goal to reduce our reliance on foreign sources of oil.
GM and Meijer will identify up to 20 locations statewide over the next few months. GM will spend significant advertising and promotion dollars to help generate awareness of E85 flexible-fuel vehiclesand where consumers can purchase E85 ethanolwith consumer marketing initiatives and dealer outreach.
GM already has nearly two million vehicles on the road today that are capable of using E85 ethanol fuel, said Elizabeth Lowery, GM vice president of environment and energy.
The effort is similar to announcements GM has already made with other state government, oil industry, ethanol producers, and retail partners in California, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, South Dakota and Texas. Since May 2005, GM has announced partnerships with states and fuel providers around the country to locate, to date, up to 130 new E85 ethanol fueling locations by the end of 2006.
Corn is the leading source of income for Indiana farmers contributing $1.45 billion annually. Indiana produces 786.9 million bushels of corn a year, providing a basis for millions of gallons of ethanol to be produced in the future. There are currently nearly 70,000 GM flexible fuel vehicles in Indiana, with a total of 90,000 flexible fuel vehicles in the state.
In January 2005, the state had no public E85 pumps. This announcement brings to 49 the number of E85 pumps expected to open by the end of the year, surpassing the 2006 goal of 40, the governor said.
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