Indiana may soon get a whole bunch of new E85 outlets, or not. At least station owners inclined to sell E85 will be able to get a helping hand from the state government thanks to newly-passed legislation. The state has set aside $1 million that will be available to filling stations of the retail and government variety in $20,000 increments. That money will help offset the cost of installing E85 capable pumps to fill up some of those flex-fuel vehicles. Unlike most such programs, private operators aren't the only ones eligible. So-called "local units" can also apply for the grants. These are municipal fleets that include police and fire departments many of which now have flex-fuel vehicles. Indiana also offers other incentives such as an 18-cent-a-gallon sales tax break on ethanol fuel. Over the past year, Indiana has opened four new biodiesel and eleven ethanol plants in addition to one existing plant that previously existed.

[Source: Ethanol Producer]

British Petroleum (now known as simply BP) has found a way to dodge around a Great Lakes anti-pollution law. The law, written in 1970, set a limit on the amount of waste sludge and ammonia that could be dumped into Lake Michigan, as the level of pollution in the lake was getting way out of hand. A clause in the law stated that if a company was dumping at an amount under the limit, they could not increase their pollution, even if it was still under the primary limit.

Well, due to the extra-crude oil from Canada, BP is now processing at its Whiting, Indiana refinery, they don't know what to do with all the extra sludge (concentrated heavy metals) and ammonia (which causes algae blooms that kill fish). They therefore managed to get a water permit to pump 35 percent more sludge and 54 percent more ammonia into the lake, right up to the limit set by the '70s pollution law.

The refinery in question has had a large expansion added to handle the new process and needed capacity, though the original refinery - much of which is still in operation - was built in 1889 by the big man John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil Co. Nifty as that is, the fact of the matter is that just three miles southeast of the Illinois/Indiana border, BP has a pipeline from the refinery to the lake 200 feet off shore, with an agitator at the bottom to mix the daily 1,584 pounds of ammonia and 4,925 pounds of sludge with the water. Is that worth the supposed 80 jobs this new permit has enabled BP to create, which supposedly is what justified the exemption? Sounds [dead] fishy to me.

[Source: Chicago Tribune]

Continuing our post on Indiana's energy policy, state governor Mitch Daniels announced his plans to the media last week. Calling it the "Hoosiers Homegrown" energy policy, his plans include the purchase of more alternative fuel vehicles by government agencies as well as ways to power such agencies with alternative fuels. Daniels wants more pursuit into clean coal technology not only to support his alternative energy plans but also to improve the state economy and employment as well. Said Daniels, "We're going to need thousands of coal miners because we're going to use a lot more Indiana coal. We're going to produce more of our power here at home."

[Source: WISH-TV]

This week, Indiana Republicans called for further incentives in the state to promote alternative fuels such as ethanol. House Speaker Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, with the support of the GOP, proposed the following:

• Biofuels Grant Program to further encourage fuel stations and such retailers to install alternative fuel pumps.
• $1,000 tax credit for residents who purchase hybrid vehicles.
• State establishes a percentage of its power to come from solar and wind sources.
• New state vehicles must either be a hybrid or biofuel-powered.

House Minority Leader Pat Bauer, D-South Bend also proposed suspending and, in time, the removal of the state gasoline tax. The Republican party disagrees with Bauer's proposal.

Related:

• Governor Bush advocates abolishment on ethanol tariffs
• Florida energy bill promotes renewables, conservation

[Source: Courier-Journal]

With the price of ethanol more than doubling in the past year, it's time for the big energy players to get into the game. The LA Times has a story out today about Chevron Corp. thinking about building plants and making its own ethanol in order to "guarantee steady supplies of the gasoline additive for its refineries". The article claims Chevron would become the first major oil company to invest in stateside ethanol production in 26 years. That company, Texaco Inc., which is now a part of Chevron, made ethanol in an old sugar-beet refinery in Indiana from 1980 until 1995. Chevron also recently invested in a large biodiesel production facility in Texas.

[Source: LA Times]

Now this is commitment. Last week, Louis Dreyfus Agriculture Industries LLC broke ground on what they are claiming will be the world’s largest biodiesel production plant. Renewabale Energy Access is reporiting that the plant will be able to make 80 million gallons of biodiesel a year once it gets online, which will take at least 18 months (more likely over two years, but the article only says that the biodiesel part of the plant will not be started until 12 to 18 months from now. Nonetheless, this plant is eating up over $5 million in tax credits, and that shows that powerful folks in Indiana believe the state has a major role to play in making America more energy independent and focuses on renewable energy sources. The plant will employ about 85 people and the million tons of “waste” soybean meal will be used in the livestock and poultry industry in Indiana. [Source: Renewable Energy Access, Image Credit: USDA]