Awareness for ethanol is rippling throughout the American consumer market. Industry leaders across the board attest to that. And it’s the IndyCar Series that is identified as one of the big catalysts that caused those waves of awareness to ripple and spread. Dave Lewandowski wrote an article on IndyCar.com, identifying the Series’ use of ethanol as one of motorsports major technological milestones.
Ray Harroun’s introduction of the rear view mirror in winning the 1911 Indianapolis 500 was the first in a long list of motorsports technological advances related to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Indy Racing League that have translated to passenger vehicles worldwide.
In 2007, the IndyCar Series chalked up another by becoming the standard bearer for the “Greening of Racing” when 100 percent fuel-grade ethanol flowed through its Honda Indy V-8 engines. In a sense, IndyCar Series cars are the true cars of tomorrow.
Worldwide media attention has focused on the first motorsports series to utilize an environmentally friendly, renewable and American-made fuel source throughout the diverse 17-race schedule. That it performed flawlessly in one of the most demanding environments in racing is equally significant for consumers.
The article goes on to explain how much the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council has played a role in making ethanol the official fuel of the IndyCar Series, calling EPIC “the driving force behind the switch to a cleaner, greener renewable fuel in the IndyCar Series.”
Now, however, it appears that maize itself may prove to be the ultimate U.S. biofuels crop. Early research results show that tropical maize, when grown in the Midwest, requires few crop inputs such as nitrogen fertilizer, chiefly because it does not produce any ears. It also is easier for farmers to integrate into their current operations than some other dedicated energy crops because it can be easily rotated with corn or soybeans, and can be planted, cultivated and harvested with the same equipment U.S. farmers already have. Finally, tropical maize stalks are believed to require less processing than corn grain, corn stover, switchgrass, Miscanthus giganteus and the scores of other plants now being studied for biofuel production.
Ethanol producer VeraSun is considering sinking $30 million into a process that would allow the company to also get biodiesel out of its ethanol production.
Seattle-based Imperium Renewables has inked an exclusive deal with Hawaiian Electric Company, which provides 95 percent of electricity for residents of the islands, to provide biodiesel for some of the utility’s generators.
Despite falling ethanol prices and some plant cutbacks, 
Ethanol is gaining more ground in the motor sports arena and more leagues are getting on board with ethanol-enriched fuel. The 
One of the keynote speakers at the symposium was 
Officials from Chrysler and the NextDiesel refinery in Adrian, Michigan are calling for better standards for biodiesel and more oily feedstocks to make the green fuel.
U.S. Bank Morgan Stanley has estimated that global sales from clean energy sources such as wind, solar and geothermal power and biofuels could grow to as much as $1 trillion a year by 2030. In the meantime, the market may hit $505 billion in sales by 2020 — almost 9 times the level in 2005. Not a bad idea to invest, right?