By Auto123.com
MONTREAL — GreenField Ethanol recently announced that its Varennes plant near Montreal, Quebec, (one of five in Canada) had a flawless start-up and is meeting all production targets after six months of operation.
Since February, the plant has produced 60 million liters of fuel-grade ethanol, exactly half of its annual capacity. The mere introduction of this ethanol into the gasoline pool has reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 90,000 tons, which is tantamount to taking 15,000 cars off the road.
Greenfield Ethanol has been a boon for the local economy. To date, the company has purchased $25 million worth of Quebec corn (150,000 tons) for the Varennes plant. This corn was grown within 70 kilometers of the plant and purchased through Pro-Ethanol, a group of about 500 Quebec corn farmers who have personally invested in the Varennes facility.
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By Auto123.com
The State of Illinois, in partnership with Ford Motor Company, is shifting to green with the upcoming delivery of 4 of the 20 Escapes Hybrid Flex Fuel produced by the blue-oval automaker.
The Illinois Corn Growers Association will also receive one while two others will be distributed to Commonwealth Edison. As a result, a total of seven Escape Hybrids that run on E85 will go to work on the streets of Illinois helping to advance Illinois' statewide environmental strategy. As for the 13 remaining units, they will be delivered to fleet customers in five other U.S. states.
While Ford will gain important technical knowledge from the day-to-day use of the vehicles, Illinois authorities will have an opportunity to make huge steps forward in their efforts to improve the air quality for all citizens.
The Escape Hybrid E85 produces 25 percent less CO2 emissions than the traditional Escape.
Incidentally, Ford is the first automaker to introduce a hybrid capable of running on E85. Also worth noting: the State of Illinois has a fleet of 2,151 vehicles, of which 17 percent are flexible fuel vehicles that can run on E85.
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Each king in a deck of playing cards
represents a great king from history:
Spades - King David
Hearts - Charlemagne
Clubs - Alexander, the Great
Diamonds - Julius Caesar
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