Governors of Midwestern U.S. states on Thursday committed to ambitious targets for the distribution and consumption of renewable fuels, marking the third U.S. regional bloc of states to form a pact aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The Midwestern alliance is the first major group to set specific targets for E85, the fuel made from a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. By 2025, they want 33 percent of gas stations, or around 9,700 locations, in the region to offer E85. They also want at least 50 percent of all transportation energy consumed in the region to be supplied by locally produced biofuels, such as ethanol fuel or biodiesel, by 2025.

The Midwestern targets could be a boon for companies trying to find easy ways for gas stations to store and distribute biofuels, @Ventures principal Rob Day said.

“Some people are working on building stand-alone stations that only offer biofuels,” he said. “But they will be competing with traditional gas stations, and it is capital intensive.”

E85 cannot be distributed or stored in existing gasoline tanks because of its ethanol content. Distributors and gas stations will have to build new facilities or retrofit existing ones before they can deal in E85.

Existing vehicles will also have to be retrofitted to run on E85. But some other biofuels, such as biodiesel, can be used in any diesel engine.

Governors of Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and the premier of Manitoba endorsed the Midwestern Greenhouse Gas Accord. With 22 percent of the U.S. population, the Midwest emits 27 percent of U.S. greenhouse gases and uses just under a quarter of all energy consumed in the country, according to the Midwestern Governors Association.

The pact calls for more power to be generated from wind and other renewable sources, reaching 10 percent by 2015 and increasing to 30 percent by 2030. It also sets goals for capturing and storing carbon dioxide from all new power plants by 2020.

U.S. states in the East and West have made agreements of their own to cut emissions. But the Midwest pact is the only one yet to specifically target E85, and that’s because its consumption will greatly benefit the region, say analysts. The Midwest supplies 94 percent of U.S. ethanol, with 115 of 131 existing plants and 65 out of 82 plants under construction, according to the Midwestern Governors Association.

While the Midwest’s goals for emissions reductions are commendable, say analysts, the region’s emphasis on ethanol fuels might be shortsighted.

That’s because corn-based ethanol has a long list of criticisms, such as high energy and water needs for production and resulting higher costs for corn, an important food stock. Analysts say cellulosic ethanol seems more promising because in theory it can be made from organic waste or fast-growing “energy crops” that wouldn’t compete with food stocks.

But it is uncertain if ethanol fuel will eventually be the best alternative to gasoline, analysts said. Biodiesel, biobutenol, or other next-generation fuels may prove easier to produce and they might not need massive changes in existing infrastructure.

“There are lots of technologies in all areas of development, and we don’t know which will be the best,” said Sanjay Wagle, vice president of Vantage Point Venture Partners. “Maybe we haven’t seen it yet.”