Family Express Corp. plans to have 20 stores offer ethanol for automobiles by the end of 2007, many of which will be in Northwest Indiana.
Its decision to add 18 stores to its ethanol list will make it the largest Indiana retailer of ethanol, a regional environmental organization said.
Gus Olympidis, owner and CEO of Family Express, announced the plans on Tuesday.
Two Family Express stores offer ethanol -- or E85 -- now. The blend is 85 percent ethanol -- made from corn -- and 15 percent gasoline. They are the Valparaiso Marketplace store along Silhavy Road, and one in Lafayette.
Olympidis said E85 sales at the Valparaiso store have been solid. Company officials said five more locations are scheduled to offer E85 within the next two months.
Carl Lisek, director of South Shore Clean Cities Inc., said his not-for-profit group has been working with Family Express since May on its ethanol program. Clean Cities is partially funded by the U.S. Department of Energy.
"We try to establish public-private partnerships," Lisek said. "We were helping them with (retro-fitting) ... new tanks."
Lisek said as of Oct. 31, there are 53 stations in Indiana that offer E85. They include 15 in Northwest Indiana. Clean Cities' goal is to lessen America's dependence on foreign oil.
Olympidis said Indiana state government's role in promoting ethanol was a factor in his decision to add more pumps. "Our commitment to providing alternative fuel sources is based on the necessity for our country to fulfill its energy needs, and our felt obligation to complement the state of Indiana's initiative to grow substantially our ethanol-producing infrastructure," Olympidis said in a written statement.