Friday, October 28, 2011

The Multiplier Effect of CBS Projects



One of the many pluses of funding our Carolina Blue Skies projects are the far-reaching educational benefits these projects have in the communities around them. The alternative fuel stations funded by Carolina Blue Skies, such as the one at Magnolia Marketplace, daily remind customers of the benefits and options of using something other than petroleum to fuel our gas-guzzling vehicles. The case for E85 is now becoming more prominent on the minds of Duplin County residents thanks to the Elm 4-H Club who included a presentation on ethanol at the 2011 Duplin County Agribusiness Fair. It was all thanks to Lounell Mainor, owner of Magnolia Martketplace, (we profiled the grand opening on this blog back in June) made a visit to the Elm 4-H club and got them excited to pursue research on ethanol. The Elm club went on to win a “blue ribbon” prize for their presentation. Now residents have more opportunities to understand the benefits of using a domestically produced fuel, the generally lower cost as compared to gasoline, and the many Flex Fuel vehicle options they can now use.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Success: E85 Gas Station Customer Appreciation Event






The E85 Fueled with Pride & Customer Appreciation Event at the Fill Good BP in Waxhaw, North Carolina was a great success! On Saturday, October 1st the Fill Good BP gas station offered free food, lower gas prices, and vendor stations with free giveaways from 9:00am until 2:00pm. Centralina Clean Fuels Coalition (CCFC), along with Carolina Blues Skies and Green Jobs Initiative project partner Monroe Oil, hosted this event. During the event CCFC’s Emily Parker and BP gas station owner Olin Furr joined the Mayor of Waxhaw, Daune Gardner, and Commissioner of the Town of Waxhaw, Phillip Gregory, for ribbon cutting ceremonies (all shown here, left to right).


**UPDATE Oct 21, 2011**


Check out the event coverage by The Charlotte Observer!

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Spotlight on Project Partners

Kathy Boyer here, Program Manager for the Blue Skies Grant. It's quarter report time again, which puts us all in paperwork mode. But it also gives me the opportunity to brag on our Blue Skies project partners!

Last quarter we really ramped up our work. Projects got off the ground, proposals went in, environmental questionnaires got approved, and most importantly, people were able to go do the good work of reducing our dependence on foreign oil.

The whole point of this effort is to improve our quality of life, and I think the Federal Government has made a wise investment in green technology to help us do that. Yes, it's not a perfect system. Yes, it's been a learning curve for everyone. But the bottom line is, we've got more propane & natural gas, more biofuels, more electric vehicles...in short, more "non-foreign" sources of fuel out there in public and private fleets alike.

So here's a special shout-out to all our Blue Skies partners. You guys are the best.