Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels announced the BioTown plan in September.

BioTown, USA is an aggressive plan that I believe will become a model for rural communities throughout our state and country. We are taking challenges and turning them into opportunities by developing homegrown, local energy production to become independent from foreign sources; creating a cleaner environment; finding new solutions to animal waste management issues; and developing new markets for Indiana agricultural products and by-products.

—Governor Mitch Daniels

Phase 1 of the BioTown, USA plan for Reynolds revolves around biofuels. Governor Daniels announced that an E85 (85% ethanol) fuel pump would be located in the center of Reynolds to support the flex fuel vehicles already in the town.

The town has committed to convert its fleet of vehicles to E85.

Phases 2 and 3 of the BioTown, USA project include potential plans to transform animal waste from area livestock farms into electricity and natural gas. There are more than 150,000 hogs within a 15-mile radius of Reynolds, as well as several sources of organic waste products, making it an ideal location for a digester, manure gasifier or some similar type of technology to turn manure and biomass into energy for the homes and businesses in Reynolds.

BioTown, USA is a project of ISDA. In mid-May 2005 ISDA rolled out its strategic plan, Possibilities Unbound: The Plan for 2025, Indiana Agriculture’s Strategic Plan. The plan contains seven strategies to grow Indiana agriculture; one of the seven strategies is bioenergy.

Winners of the GM E85 vehicles will be selected in a random drawing for residents living in the 47980 zip code. GM will also offer special pricing for any Reynolds resident wishing to purchase a GM E85 vehicle.