Michigan’s relationship both with the agriculture industry, specifically corn, and the automobile industry make it an important player in the future viability of ethanol as a fuel source. 

Michigan currently uses an ethanol blended fuel, which is a mixture of conventional gasoline and ethanol. This mixture reduces emission while maintaining the same efficiency standards as conventional gasoline. The mixture is set at 10% ethanol with 90% unleaded gasoline, and functions properly in all non-diesel automobiles. 99% of Michigan’s ethanol consumption comes from this blended mixture.

Ethanol is also produced and sold at higher concentrations as an alternative fuel. E-85 is a mixture of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline, and can only be used in flex fuel vehicles, which are specially designed for E-85. Most new vehicles are equipped with this capability. Currently E-85 as a fuel source contains several drawbacks. It is 10% less fuel efficient than conventional gasoline and is only available in limited areas. A list of participating stations can be found at http://www.e85fuel.com/. Leading Michigan automakers along with research institutions are conducting promising research for overcoming the fuel efficiency short falls associated with E-85.

Michigan currently has three commercial corn ethanol plants in service, and several others either in the planning or construction phases. The Corn Marketing Program of Michigan provides further resources about ethanol and ethanol plants in Michigan. The State of Michigan provides projections on the economic impact of plants built in Michigan. It is believed that each new plant will employ 600 construction jobs and 30-40 operational jobs locally. The estimated annual impact per plant is $110 million, which includes the purchase of approximately 18 million bushels of corn, raising corn prices 5 – 15 cents a bushel. This would create a multiplicative effect to the surrounding community.