The Indy Racing League suddenly finds itself at odds with Midwestern farmers over a decision to make a Brazilian consortium
its ethanol supplier starting next year.
Last month, Purdue University launched the Center for Energy Systems and Policy to make sure its researchers
are working early in the process with business and public-policy experts at the university.
Indianapolis-based engineering and consulting giant RW Armstrong has become lead investor in an upstart ethanol firm that
would apply novel technology to make the automotive fuel without using corn as the key ingredient. It would be the first big
commercial plant in Indiana to make the alcohol fuel with so-called cellulosic material–the holy grail, of sorts, in the
ethanol
industry.
The list of potential Hoosier ethanol plants is nothing short of astounding for a state that had just one ethanol-fuel distillery
as recently as 2005. Beyond the six ethanol plants now operating and six others under construction, Purdue University agricultural
economist Chris Hurt counts 27 others under consideration for Indiana.
The Indiana Department of Environmental Management proposes a change in regulations that could reduce the time it takes to approve air permits for ethanol plants. The change would establish industry-specific control standards for emissions.
Indiana’s plan to become the Middle East of biofuels could be a boon well beyond the rural towns that will welcome more than a dozen refineries . Firms that make and supply parts and expertise needed to build the $1.8 billion in ethanol and biodiesel plants–and related infrastructure–are gearing up.
