Local officials were surprised by Gov. Bob Riley’s announcement Wednesday that alternative fuels will be sold in Athens.

Athens Mayor Dan Williams and Hugh Ball, president of the Greater Limestone County Chamber of Commerce, said they learned of the forthcoming station from news reports and do not have further information about how the fueling site will impact Athens.

Todd Stacy, the governor’s deputy press secretary, said Friday the pumps for E85, an ethanol-gasoline mix, and B2 biodiesel will be added by April to a station at 1700 U.S. 72. Stacy did not know the name of the station located there and no stations along the highway have that address.

Whether it is an existing station or one that will be built, the owner will receive incentives to help Alabama create an alternative fuel corridor, Stacy said. A grant from the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs and the Alabama Clean Fuels Coalition will help fund construction of the sites, he said. Stations in Cullman, Vestavia Hills and Mobile also received funding to create alternative fuel sites.

“What Alabama is doing, all the way down the state, is adding to a corridor of

alternative energy stations located all down Interstate 65 so that people from the

Midwest can have a straight shot to the beach,” Stacy said.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, Alabama previously had only two alternative fuel sites and those were for government use and not open to the public. Alabama’s addition of four public-use stations leaves only 12 states that do not currently have public flex-fuel sites, including Alaska, Connecticut, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Rhode Island and Vermont, according to The Center for American Progress.

States across the country have been adding such stations, with Minnesota having the most at 308. There are about 1,200 sites nationwide.

E85 is 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline and can be used in flexible fuel vehicles. FFVs can run on gasoline, E85, or a mixture of both.

The DOE’s Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Web site at www.eere.energy.gov states that more than 5 million Americans drive FFVs, many unknowingly. A few of the models that can run on E85 are Armada, Avalanche, C230 Sport Sedan, Chrysler Aspen, Chrysler Sebring, Crown Victoria, Dodge Caravan, Dodge Dakota, Dodge Durango, F-150, Impala, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Lincoln Town Car, Monte Carlo, Silverado, Suburban, Tahoe, Terraza, Titan, Town and Country, Uplander and Yukon.

For a full list, visit thttp://www.eere.energy.gov/afdc/vehicles/flexible_fuel.html

In Alabama, more than 90,000 people drive flex-fuel cars, according to The Center for American Progress.

While motorists may have lower gas mileage while using E85 than with gas, E85 uses 27 percent less energy per gallon.

Stacy said the state is preparing for the not-so-distant future in which many more alternative fuel vehicles will be produced.

“This is forward thinking, forward moving,” Stacy said. “This whole corridor is really a great thing for Athens, a great thing for Alabama. People can drive from Chicago to Mobile and use nothing but clean, secure American energy.”

But encouraging use of energy-saving fuels requires planning, he said.

“You can’t just build one station,” he said. “You have to provide access and availability. Alabama is now part of that network.”

Ball said the impact on Athens will show over time.

“It’s hard to say at this point. It will take a while for it to catch on, for enough cars to get on the road to build a demand,” he said. “But if they’re going to do that, Athens — the front door to the interstate — is a good place to do it.”