Contact: Anne Lupardus, Office of the Governor, 608-261-2162
Also Announces Additional Initiatives to Explore Hydrogen, Biodesiel
MADISON – Governor Jim Doyle gassed up his GM-built flex-fuel vehicle
today at a Stop-N-Go station in Madison, and announced a new state
effort to recruit more E-85 stations to
Wisconsin. E-85 is fuel made with 85 percent
ethanol, and 15 percent gasoline.
“By making E-85 fuel more available in Wisconsin, families will not
only save money, they will help our environment and agricultural
industry, and reduce our dependence on foreign oil,” Governor Doyle
said. “For every dollar we spend on ethanol, seventy cents stays
right here in Wisconsin – and that’s good news for Wisconsin’s economy.”
Part of Governor Doyle’s Promoting Our Wisconsin Energy Resources
(POWER) Initiative, the $335,000 program will focus on working with and
through local governments and others to increase the number of E-85
fueling stations, and increase use of E-85 in their vehicle fleets.
More E-85 Pumps in Wisconsin: $175,000 will be used to provide grants
to gas station operators to assist in the installation of E-85
pumps. This effort is expected to establish 35 new E-85 pumps
across the state, more than doubling the number of E-85 pumps in
Wisconsin.
Increased Use of E-85 in Local Government Vehicle Fleets: $100,000 will
be focused on providing incentives to local governments to increase the
percentage of flexible fuel vehicles in their fleet, and committing to
increasing their use of E-85 in them.
Promoting E-85: $40,000 will be focused on actively promoting E-85,
raising awareness of the fuel, especially among those who already own
flexible fuel vehicles. It is estimated that there are more than
100,000 flex fuel vehicles in Wisconsin capable of using E-85.
On March 1, 2006, Governor Doyle issued an Executive Order that
requires all state agencies to reduce the use of petroleum-based
gasoline in the state’s vehicle fleet by 20 percent by 2010 and by 50
percent by 2015. While there are price fluctuations in all blends
of gasoline – E85 is generally between $.11 and $.50 cheaper than
regular unleaded blend.
In addition to the effort to promote E-85, Governor Doyle also
announced several additional programs in the POWER Initiative to keep
Wisconsin on the cutting edge of renewable energy technologies.
“Wisconsin is leading the way in energy independence,” Governor Doyle
said. “And through the POWER Initiative we will keep our momentum
going by exploring new energy sources like hydrogen, and building the
necessary infrastructure to be a leader in the production and use of
Biofuels.”
Building Infrastructure for Wisconsin’s Biodiesel Industry: $100,000
will be focused on establishing the needed infrastructure to build a
biodiesel industry in Wisconsin. These funds will be used to
partner with private business to build a crusher facility to extract
the oil from feedstocks of soybeans, canola, or other seeds for their
use in manufacturing renewable fuel.
Exploring Hydrogen: $200,000 will be focused on moving Wisconsin
forward toward the use of hydrogen, which many consider the fuel of the
future. This program will fund demonstration projects to educate
citizens on the use of hydrogen as an environmentally friendly fuel.
Funding for the initiative will require approval by the Legislature’s
Joint Finance Committee and then the United States Department of Energy.
This is part of a broad effort to make Wisconsin the nation’s leader in
energy independence. Two weeks ago, Governor Doyle signed into
law a major overhaul of Wisconsin energy policy – the Energy Efficiency
and Renewables Act, which requires that by 2015, ten percent of the
state’s electricity be from renewable sources. In addition, by
2011, the state will leverage its buying power to purchase 20 percent
of our energy for the six largest state agencies from renewable sources.
“I want Wisconsin to lead the nation in clean energy production,
growing an innovative new industry here that will not only help our
country kick the oil addiction, but also create thousands of jobs for
our citizens,” Governor Doyle said. “The rising cost of energy is
affecting everyone in Wisconsin – and it is squeezing a lot of
hardworking Wisconsin families. By promoting the use of renewable
fuels we will reduce our energy costs, keep more of our energy dollars
right here in Wisconsin, and grow our economy.”
More information on the POWER Initiative is available at
http://power.wisconsin.gov.
