Green Machines Road Trip

Michigan's Future as a Biofuels Leader

Today the Green Machines Tour was at the Capital in Lansing, MI to watch the Governor’s Renewable Fuels Commission present their recommendations to the state legislature.  The Commission has been hard at work for the past 8 months debating policies to promote biofuels in the state.  The Green Machines Tour’s Charles Griffith was appointed by the governor to be on the commission, and he fought to incorporate recommendations that would ensure the sustainability of biofuels.  What came out of his and the other commissioners’ efforts is a broad set of regulations and incentives that would propel Michigan into a leadership role in the bio-energy sector – but only if the governor and legislator act on them.

Green Machines Tour "Re-Energizes" in Taylor, Michigan

The GMT headed to Taylor, MI this month to participate in a Town Hall Meeting addressing the challenges of oil dependency and global warming.

The event focused on solutions that begin in Michigan, with an exciting and diverse panel that included Reverend Dr. Bob Edgar, Director of the National Council of Churches, R. James Woolsey, Former Director of the CIA; Lana Pollack, President of the Michigan Environmental Council; and Michigan Senator Raymond E. Basham, District 8.

Saving Oil and Greening Fleets in Michigan

Along our way, we listened as President Bush delivered his State of the Union address where he laid out his goal of a 75% reduction in America's use of Mideast oil.  While we certainly agree with the goal, we have our doubts about the plan to actually get us there.  Let's just say that the administration's track record for addressing the nation's "addiction to oil" has been somewhat less than stellar.  That's why our Green Machines Tour is asking for your help in calling on Congress to take stronger action to "Save Oil and Save Jobs."

Back home in Michigan, on a cold January day, we met with some of the people that are taking action to save oil.  The Ann Arbor area Clean Cities Coalition has been one of the leaders of the Green Fleets movement.  We met at the City of Ann Arbor's fleet garage where fleet services manager Tom Gibbons operates his fleet of nearly 400 vehicles, most of which use renewable and alternative fuels.  Tom showed off his super-sized "bio-diesel" tank and fueling station, which uses a minimum of 20% bio-diesel in colder months, and up to 50% blends of the renewable diesel fuel in the summer.  The City also runs part of its fleet on clean-burning natural gas (CNG), and also maintains a public CNG filling station.  While it plans on adding E-85 "flex-fuel" vehicles in the future, the City currently uses a 10% blend of ethanol in all its gasoline-powered vehicles. 

Significant to the City's progress was passage of a Green Fleets policy in 2004 that set a 10% reduction goal of gasoline and diesel fuel use by 2012.  According to the City's Energy Coordinator, Dave Konkle, the City had already surpassed this goal in 2006, achieving an 11% reduction.  Konkle also estimates reduced greenhouse gas emissions of 7%.  In addition to the City's use of renewable and alternative fuels, savings have also been achieved through fleet downsizing and the purchase of vehicles with higher fuel economy. 

Its not just the City that has been greening fleets in the Ann Arbor area.  Sean Reed now manages the local coalition that also includes the University of Michigan, Washtenaw County, the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority, and a host of other public and private fleet operators.  Notably, the University of Michigan has been one of the early pioneers in the use of E-85 and biodiesel, with one of the largest fleets (over 400) of flex-fuel vehicles anywhere in the country.  All in all, area Clean Cities partners have put more than 1,850 renewable or alternative-fuel vehicles on the roads in Washtenaw County, displacing more than 1,300,000 gallons of gasoline and diesel fuel. 

Green Manufacturing in Ohio

This morning we were in Toledo, Ohio, meeting with Lloyd Mahaffey, Director of UAW Region 2B.  Lloyd told us about initiatives in Ohio that are aimed at generating jobs in the green manufacturing sector, and mentioned some really innovative ideas.  He talked about a landfill located adjacent to Chrysler’s Jeep plant in Toledo that is burning methane.  He envisions producing ethanol from the methane and using it to fuel Jeeps as they come of the line.  With the Jeep plant producing 300,000 Jeeps per year and filling them with 10 gallons of fuel each, that’s a lot of ethanol that would create a bunch of jobs in the neighborhood.  He also envisions using geo-thermal or wind energy to help power a plant in Maumee that is scheduled to shut down.  That technology could significantly reduce energy costs at the plant and might make the facility more desirable to potential investors. 

We also talked to Lloyd about a Ford Transmission plant in Sharonville that is producing advanced six-speeds that help save fuel.  Ford is looking to expand production, since the new transmissions are being used in so many of the company’s new and upcoming models.  Mexico offered Ford $90 million in incentives to build the transmission there. Lloyd is hoping that the newly elected officials in Ohio and Congress will step up and make an effort to attract those kinds of green manufacturing jobs by offering similar incentives.

With energy and global warming becoming increasingly important economic and political issues, we were thrilled to see a leader like Lloyd with so many innovate ideas and taking real initiative to move things forward.  And, were also pleased to see him take action by signing our pledge.

Greening Fleets in Chicago

Next we drove down to Chicago, or at least one of its suburbs, to talk with members of the Chicago Area Clean Cities Coalition.  These are primarily local government folks that are leading the way on purchasing clean fuels and clean vehicle technologies in the Chicago metropolitan area.  We stopped by the fleet garage for the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County, where we spoke with the Preserve's fleet manager, John Walton.  DuPage has become somewhat of a national model, where John helped to champion the Preserve's goal of 100% alternative-fueled vehicles over 10 years.  With more than 162 vehicles in its fleet, the Preserve is already well on its way.  In case you were wondering, a Forest Preserve District is a unique governmental body that manages the public lands within the county.  In most cases (in Illinois at least), forest preserve districts are governed by the County board.  Not the case in Dupage County.  Their governing board is separate, keeping the land preservation mission front and center.  Part of that mission is also the Preserve's commitment to cleaner air, and reduced energy use.

We also spoke with Darwin Burkhart, who chairs the broader Chicago Area Clean Cities (CACC) coalition.  He told us about other success stories in the Chicago area, such as the purchase of hybrids (note his red one in the picture above) and the use of E-85 in the City of Chicago, and the extensive use of biodiesel in the City of Evanston.  The CACC coalition is part of the federal Clean Cities program run by the US Department of Energy, which has now spurred a network of more than 80 Clean City coalitions throughout the country. 

Rounding out the visit was a conversation with David Christopher, the finance and marketing VP for the region's largest retailer of E-85 fuel--Gas City.  With more than 20 stations carrying E-85 in the Chicago area, Gas City has made using an E-85 vehicle a convenient option for the city's residents.  While Gas City has made a commitment to E-85 "for the long haul," Mr. Christopher explained that many owners of flex-fuel vehicles still aren't aware they can use E-85 in their vehicles.  He said there's still a need for a public education campaign to help people become aware of the benefits and availability of these new fuels.  Toward that end, Gas City and its E85 fuel supplier, VeraSun Energy, have formed partnerships with both Ford and GM to expand consumer awareness about the availability of E85 in the Chicago area and throughout the Midwest.

Flex-Fuel SUVs in Janesville, WI

Today we stopped near the Wisconsin–Illinois border to visit GM’s Janesville Assembly plant, which builds the Chevy Tahoe, GMC Yukon, and Chevy Suburban.  We were greeted by leadership from UAW Local 95, who were interested to learn more about the kinds of fuel-efficient technologies we are promoting and the chances of GM actually making the Chevy Volt plug-in electric concept vehicle that debuted at the North American Auto Show last week. 

The SUVs being built in Janesville now are pretty efficient, for what they are.  They are among the class leaders in terms of fuel-economy, so if you need to haul large or heavy loads, they really are a pretty good choice.  The standard engine on 4x4 models is flex-fuel, so it can run on corn grown right in Wisconsin.  In fact, GM makes the majority of flex-fuel vehicles offered in the US.  Currently there are 27 flex-fuel models on the market, 25 of them are made by domestic companies, 14 are made by GM. (To learn more about GM's flex-fuel vehicles, visit its Live Green - Go Yellow website.)

The engine also uses an Active Fuel Management system that shuts half the engine’s cylinders down when driving conditions are light.  If you get the Denali version of the Yukon, it comes with a new six-speed that helps make the vehicle a little more efficient.

Growing the BioEconomy in WI

After leaving the snowy cornfields of Iowa, we headed East through beautiful hill country and the Great River valley, eventually arriving at the Wisconsin state capitol in Madison. We started out our day at the hilltop offices of the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, where we met with Secretary Rod Nilsestuen and his top policy director, Gary Radloff. The Secretary shared his strong optimism for growing Wisconsin’s bio-economy, tying together the strong agricultural and forest products industries in the state with its vibrant manufacturing sector. This means not only producing new biofuels made from cellulosic crops and wood products, but also developing new bio-based products that begin to replace conventional petroleum-based feedstocks. These efforts not only promise to add new jobs and economic opportunity within the state, but also prevent energy dollars from leaving the state. The Secretary also shared his strong commitment to encouraging local ownership in the new bioeconomy, emphasizing the additional value-added to local communities when dollars are kept, and then largely spent, within the local community.

Mr. Radloff discussed with us the state’s innovative policy strategy for growing the bio-economy. Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle recently announced a $450 million initiative to create 17,000 high-end jobs in bioindustry and renewable energy. The initiative consists of a creative public, private investment strategy to encourage new biofuel and renewable energy investments, including: production of biofuels and bioproducts, E-85 and biodiesel fueling stations, and new renewable technology research. $80 million of public funds would be used to leverage more than $370 in private investments, through loan guarantees, low-interest loans, tax credits and grants. The plan drew on the recommendations of the Wisconsin Consortium on Biobased Industry, a 20-member panel established by Governor Doyle. For more information about bio-based initiatives in WI, see: http://power.wisconsin.gov/

The Corn's Cookin' in Iowa

After leaving St. Paul, we made our way over snow-covered highways early on Sunday morning to stop in Lakota, Iowa. Even if we didn’t have directions to Global Ethanol Services (formerly Midwest Grain Processors), we probably could have found our way there by rolling down the windows and following the smell of cornbread. We hadn’t expected an ethanol plant to smell so good!

Once there, we had a chat with David Rosenmeyer, General Manager at Global Ethanol. He explained the ethanol production process to us, and also showed us through the plant so we could see it for ourselves. As it turns out, the plant produces about 100 million gallons of ethanol per year, all of which is made from corn produced on local farms within a 50-mile radius. The company began as a farmer cooperative back in 2001, and though it sold partial ownership to an LLC last year, it's still 40% owned by farmers.

Talkin' Biofuels with Jim

Minneapolis is also home to the renowned Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP), where we met up with researcher/advocate Jim Kleinschmit.  Jim has a family farming background raising grass-fed beef cattle, and now specializes in agricultural policies related to the booming biofuels industry.  He and his colleagues at IATP are working to help grow the industry in a sustainable direction.  On a sunny winter afternoon at the former home of the Crosby family (one of the founders of General Mills) we spoke with Jim about the role of biofuels in helping to build local economic opportunities in rural America, about some of the valid and less valid critiques of ethanol, and about the exciting prospects for advanced cellulosic biofuels in providing more environmentally-friendly options for growing the new bioeconomy. 

You can find more information about sustainable biofules on IATP’s website.

Other useful sources of information on this topic include the New Rules Project at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, a report on Growing Energy from the Natural Resource Defense Council, and a special Fill’er Up series on biofuels from the online journal Grist.   

Chatting with UAW Region 4 in Illinois

On our way up to St. Paul, we made a quick stop yesterday afternoon just north of Chicago to chat with Dennis Williams, Director of UAW Region 4. Brother Dennis’ region covers a large portion of the Midwest, including members that work at auto plants that we plan to visit in Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota.

Mr. Williams has been working closely with policy makers throughout his region who are promoting advanced auto technologies and biofuels. He spoke to us about new legislative activities, the closing of Ford’s Twin Cities plant in St. Paul, and some new eco-technologies being built in his region. Check it out!