What
needs 5.7 gallons of paint, 5600 rivets, and 4.9 miles of
wire? ONE BIG YELLOW SCHOOL BUS!
Executive Director Melissa Howell discovered
this during her visit to the International School Bus
Production Plant where hybrid electric buses for Kentucky
school districts are being manufactured.
"Seven hybrid electric buses will be on the
assembly line next week there and then headed for Kentucky
to join school fleets here. Approximately 20 more will come
off the line in late April," said Grant Pick, Tulsa Bus
Plant Manager.
The plant stretches on for an entire mile,
which is used for manual assembly as there are no robots in
the plant. Each bus is assembled with the personal attention
of human hands from start to finish.
"It is not often that you get to see a
project of this scope from concept to reality. Now we get
started on curriculum!" said Howell.
The hybrid buses were purchased with a grant
from the U.S. Department of Energy. The Kentucky Clean Fuels
Coalition is making preparations to collect and analyze data
once the buses are in circulation across the state.
Corn Growers Offer Funding Incentives for Ethanol
Pump Installation in Kentucky
The
Kentucky Corn Growers Association has supported the installation of
several new E85 pumps in the state at Thorntons and Key Oil
locations, and will continue to provide grants to retailers wanting
to install E85 ethanol pumps.
"We are giving $2,500 per pump to qualifying retailers," says Laura
Knoth, KyCGA executive director. "More flexible fuel vehicles are on
the roads today than ever before, and drivers are asking for the
cleaner, domestically produced fuel option."
Anyone interested in the grant program should contact Knoth at
laura@kycorn.org or
800-326-0906.
Mark Your Calendar
Mid America Truck Show
March 31 - April 2, 2011
The Kentucky Expo Center
Louisville, KY
Spring KCFC Meeting
April 29, 2011
10 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Shaker Village, Pleasant Hill, KY
See our news blogs at
http://kycleanfuels.blogspot.com
