Michigan Department of Consumer & Industry Services Director Announces $5,000 Grant to Promote Fuel Alternative to State's 130,000 Flexible Fuel Vehicle Owners

    LANSING, Mich., Aug. 31 Michigan Department of Consumer &
Industry Services Director Kathleen Wilbur announced today a $5,000 state
grant will enable the Corn Marketing Program of Michigan to increase awareness
of an environmentally-friendly fuel alternative, E-85, which can be produced
from corn.
    The grant will be used for promotional activities focusing on the state's
130,000 flexible fuel vehicle (FFV) owners, many of who are not aware their
vehicles can use E-85.  The educational campaign will include conducting on-
site radio remotes, issuing press releases, and targeting FFV owners within a
60-mile radius of the eight E-85 refueling stations located in Michigan.
    "This year-long project is aimed at educating Michigan drivers about E-85
as a fuel alternative that is available today and will become more so in the
future after a production facility becomes operational in the state in 2002,"
said Wilbur.  "This is an exciting time for this project to launch since
consumers are very enthusiastic about exploring fuel alternatives due to
concerns about the environment and our reliance on foreign oil.  E-85 will
help us work toward alleviating these concerns, while at the same time
contributing to the state's farming economy and local communities."
    E-85 is a renewable fuel made of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent
gasoline.  Ethanol is an alcohol made through the fermentation of plant sugars
from agricultural crops and biomass resources.
    The grant is administered through the CIS Energy Office's Michigan Biomass
Energy Program, which encourages increased production and/or use of energy
derived from biomass sources.  Biomass is organic matter which is made
available on a renewable basis through natural processes, or it can be
produced as a byproduct of human activities.  Ethanol can be produced both
from natural processes (from crops such as corn) or from industrial byproducts
(paper mill and food processing waste).
    For further information, contact Jody Pollok of the Corn Marketing Program
of Michigan, at 517-323-6600 or Jan Patrick of the CIS Energy Office at
517-241-6153.  CIS' Energy Office web site is
http://www.cis.state.mi.us/opla/erd/.

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