I-65 to become 'clean corridor' as four states will offer filling stations for enhanced biofuels

Interstate 65, which runs through Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama, has been named the nation's first "biofuels corridor," thanks to a project dedicated to providing E85 ethanol and B20 biodiesel fuel at 31 gas stations along the highway.

The stations will be spaced to make sure drivers on I-65 are never more than a quarter tank of gas away from a gas station providing alternative fuel. “In Alabama today, we have approximately 100,000 ‘Flex Fuel’ vehicles that can run on ethanol, but very few retail outlets where you can buy the fuel,” said Larry Fillmer, the executive director of Auburn University’s Natural Resources Management & Development Institute. “The opening of these refueling stations on I-65 is the first step to making ethanol more readily available for consumers who drive ‘Flex Fuel’ vehicles.”

The "Clean Corridor" project has been the result of a partnership of the four states, and seeks to "reduce the dependence on foreign oil, improve air quality and economic development," writes Abby Albright of The Auburn [Ala.] Plainsman. The U.S. Department of Energy gave $1.3 million in grant money to the Indiana Office of Energy and Defense Development, which is coordinating the project. (Read more)