Thorntons Wins Top Bioenergy Award

INDIANAPOLIS -- Thorntons Inc. won the 2012 Paul Dana Excellence in Bioenergy Leadership Award.

The award recognizes those who have exemplified leadership and innovation vision in the bioenergy industry. The convenience store chain received the award during the Greater Indiana Clean Cities Coalition Holiday Reception at Piper's West in Indianapolis.

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels and Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman established the award to honor the memory of Indy Racing League driver Paul Dana, a strong supporter of Indiana's growing biofuels industry, who died in a 2006 racing accident.

"I congratulate the Thornton family for its entrepreneurial spirit, growing the fueling business from a single station in New Albany, Ind., in 1952 to be among Forbes magazine's 500 largest privately held companies today," Skillman, who serves as Indiana's Secretary of Agriculture, said, reported Hoosier Ag Today. "We thank [them] for [their] support of Indiana and including mid-level ethanol blends at E85 at [their] stations."

Indiana now has five biodiesel plants with an combined capacity of more than 100 million gallons of biodiesel.