BALTIMORE (Map, News) - Homegrown fuel and less dependency on foreign oil.

That was the theme Monday in Baltimore as Maryland Gov. Robert Ehrlich and U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman spoke at a ribbon-cutting ceremony highlighting Maryland’s first state-owned ethanol fueling station.

Located in Baltimore at 300 W. Preston St., the fueling station is not open to the public. It is part of the Baltimore State Office Center refueling station and it is limited to state vehicle use.

Even so, Ehrlich and Bodman praised the station’s opening as a move toward using cleaner-burning fuels and alternative fuels in the state. Ethanol is produced by distilling grains such as wheat, barley, sugar cane and even some grass types.

About 500 state vehicles, mostly flexible-fuel Ford Taurus sedans, can use the station. Most of the state’s flexible fuel vehicles are in the Baltimore-Washington region, according to Michael Li, chief of staff at the Maryland Energy Administration.

The Baltimore station will use E85, which is 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. Flexible-fuel vehicles can run on either ethanol or gasoline, Li said.

“With this new E85 facility, and others planned for Annapolis and College Park, we are working to make our state fleet less dependent on fossil fuels,” Ehrlich said in statement.

“In addition, by encouraging stations to covert to E85 capability, we will promote the use of cleaner fuels by Maryland commuters, increase the viability of our farms, and keep our air and water clean,” Ehrlich said.

The governor pledged Monday, if re-elected, to introduce legislation in the Maryland General Assembly that would provide tax credits to gas stations that add or convert to E85.

Bodman also announced that the federal government has issued guidelines for $2 billion in loan guarantees to “help spur investment in projects that employ new energy technologies.”

eeldridge@baltimoreexaminer.com