By Stan Maddux, Post -Tribune staff writer
LaPORTE — LaPorte is joining seven other Indiana communities in helping the state achieve a goal of being a nationwide leader in alternative fuels.
“I am pleased to see that LaPorte is on the cutting edge,’’ said Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman in her announcement Friday at LaPorte City Hall.
Seventy vehicles in the city’s fleet, such as dump trucks and fire engines, will start burning a mixture of 80 percent diesel and 20 percent soybean oil, possibly as soon as Monday.
Since those vehicles already have diesel engines capable of burning the alternative fuel without modifications, only catalytic converters to reduce emissions have to be added, LaPorte Mayor Leigh Morris said.
At least five school districts in Lake County have switched their bus fleets to biodiesel.
The biodiesel fuel consumed in LaPorte will be supplied out of the New Energy plant in South Bend.
According to Skillman, Indiana is on the brink of becoming a nationwide leader in alternative fuel production and consumption, with nine plants making fuel mixed with ethanol and soybean oil currently under development.
Last year, Skillman said, there were no stations for the public to purchase ethanol.
There are presently 25 alternative fuel stations available to the public in Indiana and by the end of May, that figure should climb to 32, with at least 40 — including one in LaPorte — possibly by the end of the year, Skillman said.
“I think we will exceed that goal,’’ Skillman said.
The use of alternative fuels should grow as consumers become more conditioned and confident about the availability and quality, Skillman said.
“We’re trying to create a culture where the use of biofuels become natural,’’ Skillman said.
Not only do alternative fuels reduce the dependence on foreign oil, higher prices for corn and soybeans because of increased demand help farmers and the state’s economy.
There’s also an environmental benefit judging by studies that show fuels with ethanol and soybean oil burn much cleaner, Skillman said.
Morris said the city’s move toward biodiesel use in its vehicles is part of his administration’s strategic plan to earn a “Clean Cities’’ designation from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management.
Because the emissions are much cleaner, Morris said the city also wants to help lift the federal ozone nonattainment status from LaPorte County as a job creation tool so businesses aren’t hamstrung by clean air restrictions.
“When the environment is important and the city has done what’s necessary to attain a clean cities designation, it’s another indicator that LaPorte is a great place to live, work and do business,’’ Morris said.