Bills addressing biodiesel and biomass are on Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s desk, waiting for her signature to help make the state a national leader in alternative fuel production.
This story from The Bay City (MI) Times has details about some of the bills:
• Dedicating five new Alternative Energy Renaissance Zones for facilities that use cellulosic materials for fuel production, bringing the total number to 15;
• Requiring the Michigan Department of Agriculture to develop standards for a 20 percent biodiesel blend;
• Expanding the role of the Renewable Fuels Commission;
• Creating a property, sales and use tax exemption for machinery used to harvest biomass.
Not only will the bills help alternative fuels in Michigan, they will help create thousands of jobs in a state that right now is on some shaky employment ground.