The office of Indiana's Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman has announced $325,809 in grants to be distributed to organizations across the state looking to use alternative fuels. The Indiana Energy Group administered the funds through the Alternative Fuel Vehicles (AFV) Grant Program.

The AFV grants allow businesses, non-profit institutions and units of local government (including public schools) to purchase alternative fuel vehicles and to convert conventional vehicles to alternative fuels. Grant amounts were available up to a maximum of $50,000, but no less than $2,000. To receive grants, applicants had to meet a number of different criteria to qualify, including having demonstrated that the proposed project will result in a significant decrease in the consumption of gasoline or diesel fuel, having demonstrated that the proposed project is appropriate and technically feasible, having described how their use of alternative fuel vehicles will produce environmental benefits and having described how the project will facilitate economic development in Indiana.

A majority of the grants have gone to school districts that are converting bus fleets to soy biodiesel, as well as to gas stations installing E85 fueling infrastructures. These grants encourage the use of biofuels and allow biofuels to become more feasible, Skillman's office said. To date, grant-funded projects will offset more than 1.2 million gallons of conventional fuel in Indiana.

Organizations in counties designated as non-attainment by the U.S. EPA have been awarded 50 percent of these grants. Some $257,000 in grant money has gone to increase the use of biodiesel in Indiana alone.