Four different federal Clean City grants totaling $400,000 will finance expansion of the 85 percent ethanol fueling infrastructure into areas beyond the Heartland.

Clean Cities is a locally-based, voluntary government and industry partnership to expand the use of alternatives to gasoline and diesel fuel.

At the national Clean Cities conference in May, U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Richardson revealed the 56 winning projects in 24 states that will be funded this year. Among the winners were four that featured installation of E85 fueling pumps in Maryland, New Mexico, Utah and Wisconsin.

Maryland Growers Launch E85 Pumps In August, the Maryland Grain Producers Association helped open the state's first E85 station in Annapolis with the goal of opening ten more in other parts of the state. Members of the Association said large stocks of grain in storage and near-record crops predicted, corn prices could be at 20-year lows. The group feels developing new markets for grain will help raise prices.

The specifics of each project:

Maryland. The Baltimore Clean City effort will establish between five and eight E85 pumps in the greater Baltimore area.

New Mexico . Five to seven new E85 pumps will be located in major metropolitan areas of the state.

Utah. Four new E85 pumps will be constructed in the greater Salt Lake City area.

Wisconsin. The southeast corner of Wisconsin will be targeted for the development of an extensive E85 fueling infrastructure.