Office of Gov. Mike Rounds

500 E. Capitol Ave.

Pierre, SD 57501

(605) 773-3212

www.state.sd.us

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, November 16, 2005

CONTACT: Mark Johnston or Roxy Everson at (605) 773-3212

Gov. Mike Rounds announces Flex Fuel Vehicle purchase for state fleet

PIERRE, S.D. - Gov. Mike Rounds today announced that the state Bureau of Administration's Fleet and Travel Management will replace current fleet vehicles with 251 flex fuel vehicles (FFV).

"We need to be a player in promoting our growing ethanol production," said Gov. Rounds. "This year's order of FFV is 82% of our total order of new vehicles, and will bring the total number of FFV in the state fleet to 562 units or 17.5% of all fleet units."

Ethanol is a biodegradable fuel additive produced from corn. E-85 is an alternative fuel produced by blending 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline. It is a clean-burning, domestically produced, renewable fuel that contributes to decreased dependence on imported oil. Automobiles called flexible fuel vehicles are designed to run on E-85.

E85 has the highest oxygen content of any transportation fuel available today, making it burn cleaner than gasoline. Fewer exhaust emissions result in reduced production of smog and a decline in respiratory illness associated with poor air quality. E85 also reduces greenhouse gas emissions such as carbon dioxide, the main contributor to global warming, as much as 39 to 46 percent compared to gasoline.

South Dakota currently has eleven operating ethanol production plants with three new plants under construction, with an estimated production capacity of 775 million gallons per year by the end of 2006. Approximately 275 million bushels of South Dakota corn will be used for ethanol by December 2006.

More than 8,000 South Dakota farm families have invested in some form of ethanol production. That's over 60% of all corn growers in the state.

South Dakota's ethanol leadership is clear:

#1 in the US in farmer-owned plants;
#1 in the US in percentage of corn used;
#4 in the US in total ethanol production;

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