It is also a renewable energy source and reduces our reliance on foreign oil. The University of Michigan is one of the first fleets in Michigan or elsewhere to utilize bio-diesel. Ethanol Powered Vehicles Parking and Transportation Services purchased more than 100 ethanol powered vehicles in 2000, and plans to purchase more than 100 more in 2001. We also installed a 10,000 gallon ethanol underground storage tank in 2000, which enables us to fuel all of these vehicles on-site. The University of Michigan is a leader in ethanol fuel usage, as we have more ethanol powered vehicles in use than any other fleet in Michigan.
Ethanol is a cleaner fuel than gasoline and is a renewable energy source.
This fuel is refined from corn. This allows our fleet vehicle users to fuel the vehicles with unleaded gasoline when they are away from our premises. The University has purchased six Electric Ford Ranger pickup trucks which will be used in its fleet of more than 900 vehicles. These are among the first built on a new assembly line in Troy, Michigan and are totally electric powered. They operate on 39 eight volt batteries stored in a special battery pack under the vehicle.