Regional Biofuels Promotion Plan

Ohio has joined Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin in adopting the Energy Security and Climate Stewardship Platform (Platform), which establishes shared goals for the Midwest region, including increased biofuels production and use. Specifically, the Platform sets the following goals:

• Produce commercially available cellulosic ethanol and other low carbon fuels in the region by 2012;
• Increase E85 availability at retail fueling stations in the region to 15% of stations by 2015, 20% by 2020, and 33% of all fueling stations in the region by 2025;
• Reduce the amount of fossil fuel that is used in the production of biofuels by 50% by 2025; and
• By 2025, at least 50% of all transportation fuels consumed in the Midwest will be from regionally produced biofuels and other low carbon transportation fuels.

The Platform also establishes a regional biofuels corridor program. State transportation, agriculture, and regulatory officials must develop a system of coordinated signage across the region for biofuels and advanced transportation fuels and to collaborate to create regional E85 corridors. The program requires standardized fuel product coding at fueling stations as well as increased education for retailers about converting existing fueling infrastructure to dispense E85.