Domestic Fuel

Pilot Travel Centers has added three more locations where Ethanol 85 can be purchased. Pilot now offers E85 at five locations statewide. E85 contains 85 percent ethanol and is for Flex Fuel vehicles only.

The stations include Strawberry Plains Pike and Crossville locations in East Tennessee and in Dickson, Tenn., along Interstate 40 west of Nashville. Earlier locations were in Knoxville at Northshore Drive at Pellissippi Parkway, and Walker Springs Road. They offered the fuel beginning in 2007. Pilot, based in Knoxville, bills itself as the largest operator of travel centers in the country with more than 300 locations in 40 states.

Last Friday, four of the Tennessee Pilot locations offered special pricing on E85 as part of its introduction of new east Tennessee stations. Jimmy Haslam, CEO of Pilot Travel Centers said, “We are committed to our customers, our community and our environment. Providing E85 meets a strong consumer demand and helps the environment—a win-win for all involved. We plan to continue installing E85 pumps as it is feasible.”

A bill that will allow $1 million to retailers in the State of South Dakota to install ethanol blender pumps has passed legislation. House Bill 1192 will use funds through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The prime sponsor of the bill was Representative Mitch Fargen.

Up to $10,000 can be used at each fueling facility to install blends of ethanol up to E85, but must be used between April 1 and May 28. Stations are allowed to use more than $10,000 if installing more than one blender pump.

As first reported by the South Dakota Corn Growers Association, Owen Jones, a farmer and rancher from Britton, South Dakota said, “With the incentives outlined in HB 1192, the State of South Dakota can play a significant role in getting the proper distribution system in place for the future of renewable fuels. Instead of dispensing one product, five different products can be dispensed from one pump. Another reason I am very supportive of this Bill is the fact that this legislation is not only good for the ethanol industry, but it is good for our nation. We need to rid ourselves of the addiction on foreign oil and change to a renewable fuel system which our nation controls.”

South Dakota currently has about 40 ethanol blender pumps throughout the state and nearly 100 E85 stations.

E85 infrastructure legislation that will extend grants of $100,000 up to 50% is one step closer to being a reality. According to BrighterEnergy.org, House Bill 1261 was voted through without opposition in the Indiana state Senate.

The “Agricultural Biomass Infrastructure Grant Fund” now will return to the state’s House of Representatives for consideration. The grant will extend the eligibility of governments, retailers, school corporations and state universities to tale advanatage of this funding.

State Senator Sue Errington (D-Muncie), one of the sponsors of the Bill, said: “Biomass and biofuels are going to be an important part of our future energy market. This bill gives biomass producers the tools they need to build and expand the infrastructure required to deliver these renewable energy products.”

“By opening up more grant opportunities, we can encourage further development and use of alternative energy in Indiana,” State Sen. Stutzman said. “With today’s vote, the Senate helped move our state toward greater energy independence.”

The state of Indiana currently has 129 E85 refueling locations.

E85 sold for 85 cents a gallon on Wednesday, February 24 at five Propel stations throughout California. Facilities in Sacramento, Rocklin, Citrus Heights and Elk Grove held a promotion from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. in partnership with CALSTART.

The event’s intent was to educate Sacramento drivers and bring new FFV owners to Propel stations. The event had media coverage from all local broadcast affiliates, as well as the key daily and business publications in the area.

Chris LaPlante Marketing Director, Propel Fuels said, “The customer turnout exceeded our expectations with over 400 hundred participants in the E85 promotion across five locations. These customers reduced approximately 30,000 lbs of CO2 that day, and saved over $10,000 at the pump. What a day!”

“Given the cost savings and carbon reductions our fleet has realized through Propel’s Sacramento stations, we are looking forward to broader statewide access from Propel,” said Larry Paris, Fleet Manager, Sacramento District of the U.S. Postal Service. “Working with Propel to identify future locations that best serve our fleet is vital to meeting the renewable fuel goals of the U.S. Postal Service.”

Matt Horton, CEO of Propel noted, “Consumers and fleets see considerable savings at the pump by using E85, and reduce dependence on foreign oil,” said Matt Horton, CEO of Propel. “Propel’s average E85 price is $.50 per gallon lower than gasoline, so checking your car’s Flex Fuel compatibility can lead to significant savings at the pump.”

According to a press release by Green Plains Renewable Energy, Inc. (GPRE), the company has announced its fourth quarter 2009 income profit of $23.1 million compared to a net loss of $1.8 million in fourth quarter 2008. The quarterly income is that of $0.91 per share compared to $0.08 per share in 2008.

“All of our businesses performed well in the fourth quarter,” said Todd Becker, President and Chief Executive Officer. “We generated significantly higher operating income during the quarter primarily due to a strong performance from our ethanol production segment. In the fourth quarter, we produced 122 million gallons of ethanol which exceeds our expected capacity. The combination of higher production volumes, a stronger margin environment, and harvest activities for agribusiness resulted in a record quarter.”

Accomplishments that attributed to the profit include:
1. In October 2009, the group unveiled BioProcessAlgae, LLC’s Phase I Grower Harvester TM pilot project.
2. In late 3rd quarter of 2009, the group entered into an agreement with Lincolnway Energy, LLC to provide ethanol marketing services.
3. On July 2, 2009, Green Plains completed the acquisition of two Nebraska ethanol plants located near Central City and Ord.
4. On January 15, 2009, Green Plains Trade entered into an agreement to provide third-party ethanol marketing services to Bushmills Ethanol, Inc. of Atwater, Minnesota.
5. On January 1, 2009 Green Plains acquired majority interest in Houston-based biofuel terminal operator Blendstar, LLC.

“I am proud of the many accomplishments our team achieved during 2009. We fortified our operating, administrative and commercial activities while at the same time demonstrated our ability to significantly grow our operating segments. Our business model has been tested through one of the most challenging environments the ethanol industry has seen and continues to prove itself. As a result, we were able to reach profitability for the full year. We believe our industry, and more importantly, our company is on solid footing for the coming years,” said Becker.

Today, in an effort to increase fueling location options for flex fuel vehicle owners, the Martin-Eagle Oil Company announced the installation of a new E85 refueling site located at their headquarters facility at 2700 James Street in Denton, TX. The new site will supply E85 to both retail customers and to wholesale accounts.

Motorists operating flexible fuel vehicles can fuel up at the 2700 James Street location and take advantage of the cost savings of approximately 25 cents per gallon and use a domestically produced renewable fuel.

“We have made a significant investment to establish this new retail site adjacent to our office and look forward to offering E85 to other retail vendors through our wholesale operations,” said Stephen Martin, President of Martin-Eagle Oil Company. “E85 can only be used in flexible fuel vehicles that have been designed to operate on high level blends of ethanol, and we calculate there are more than 102,000 FFVS operating in the metroplex. With only 6 current E85 fueling stations throughout the area, we anticipate significant demand for the product once motorists become aware of its availability.”

The new fully automated E85 fueling site is open 24 hours and accepts all major credit cards.

According to Martin, “While there is still a great deal of oil produced in Texas, the fact is that we import more than 70% of our transportation fuels. We believe that the use of E85 in flexible fuel vehicles can be part of the solution to both cleaner air and local job creation.”

Mindy Mize, Dallas-Fort Worth Clean Cities Co-Coordinator added, “We are very pleased that Martin-Eagle Oil has chosen to open a new E85 refueling facility in the Metroplex. With so many flexible fuel vehicles in the region this new site will add to the fueling location options available to motorists.”

Martin-Eagle Oil will also be offering E85 to wholesale customers.

Protec Fuel Management, a company out of Boca Raton, Florida that offers retailers a turnkey option in ethanol infrastructure, has received funding from the U.S. Department of Energy to open thirty E85 stations throughout Florida, Georgia andd Alabama.

According to their press release, Protec has teamed up with General Motors, the Renewable Fuels Association and Urbieta Oil to open these alternative fueling outfits. A total of eighteen stations will be installed in Florida, ten in Georgia and two in Alabama. Eight E85 stations have already been opened under this funding:

Site #1 – Pembroke Road U-Gas, 6810 Pembroke Road, Miramar, FL 33023
Site #2 – West Hialeah U-Gas, 7950 West 28th Avenue, Hialeah, FL 33018
Site #3 – North 2nd U-Gas, 19570 NW 2nd Avenue, Miami Gardens, FL 33169
Site #4 – Coral Way UGas, 2200 SW 22nd Street, Miami, FL 33135
Site #5 – Deerfield Marathon, 1900 South Powerline Road, Deerfield, FL 33432
Site #6 – Coral Ridge Valero, 11600 Wiles Road, Coral Springs, FL 33065
Site #7 – Palm Avenue Marathon, 2090 Palm Ave., Hialeah, FL 33010
Site #8 – Red Road Marathon, 16701 NW 57th Avenue, Miami, FL 33055

“We’re pleased to work with Protec to increase E85 pumps across the country. GM has over 4 million flex-fuel vehicles in the U.S. and Florida is one of the most populated flex fuel vehicle markets. Today, Florida has hundreds of thousands of GM flex-fuel vehicle drivers supporting the rapid expansion of E85 infrastructure,” said Mary Beth Stanek, Director of Environment and Energy Policy and Commercialization for General Motors.

On February 24th, E85 will sell for 85 cents per gallon at Propel Sacramento fueling locations within the state of California. This promotion will be in partnership with CALSTART to announce and celebrate expansion of the clean burning fuel throughout the state. The promotion is also an effort to bring awareness of E85 to the over 400,000 flexible fuel vehicles in California.

Propel’s E85 stations were partially funded through a US Department of Energy grant administered from CALSTART. According to a CALSTART press release, as a result of this grant, 14 new stations have been opened throughout California in the past 18 months.

“This growing network of E85 stations from our partner, Propel, offers California consumers more choice, while cleaning the air and boosting our efforts to cut petroleum use in the state,” said John Boesel, President and CEO of CALSTART.

A press event will kick off the promotion at 10:00 a.m. at 7741 Auburn Blvd. in Citrus Heights, CA. Propel currently has 11 E85 stations throughout the states of California and Washington. To see a listing of E85 stations that will offer the 85 cent promotion, click here.

The newly reopened Shell Quik Mart at 532 East Second Street in Muscle Shoals, Alabama now offers E85. For the first time, flexible-fuel vehicle owners and operators looking to refill their tanks in Muscle Shoals will have a choice to refuel with traditional gasoline grades or E85.

“We are pleased to be the first and only station, not only in Muscle Shoals, but all of Northwest Alabama, to offer a renewable fuel alternative for conscientious consumers,” said Edwards Oil Company’s President, Jonathan Edwards. “Our customers who own flexible-fuel vehicles have been asking for it, and now they have a choice to refuel their vehicles with a product that reduces air pollution, lowers our dependence on foreign oil, and helps support American farmers.”

Officials with the Alabama Clean Fuels Coalition, which is the principal coordinating point for alternative fuels in the state, say they have seen a dramatic increase in the development of ethanol infrastructure and use in Alabama.

“In 2006, we had zero stations in Alabama offering E85 ethanol, very few entities that had flex-fuel vehicles, and only a handful of people looking for creative ways to implement ethanol,” said Mark Bentley, Executive Director of the Alabama Clean Fuels Coalition. “Today, we have the first station in the Shoals to offer ethanol, our state government and many local communities utilize flex-fuel vehicles, we were part of the nation’s first biofuels clean corridor along Interstate 65, and the City of Hoover, Alabama, was the first in the country to turn yard clippings and wood debris into ethanol to fuel their municipal vehicles. What a difference a few years makes!”

Edwards Oil Company owns and operates forty-one Shell Quik Mart Convenience Stores, fourteen of which are located in Northwest Alabama (Colbert, Lauderdale, Lawrence and Limestone Counties) with the other 27 located in the south-central portion of middle Tennessee.

The Western Petroleum Marketers Association (WPMA) “Back in the Black” show concluded in Las Vegas today. The regional trade association held their annual show this week which included retailers in the states of Hawaii, Washington, Nevada, Idaho, Utah, Montana and New Mexico.

Condoleezza Rice was the keynote speaker at the show. Following speakers included Petroleum Equipment Institute who spoke on dealing with difficult people, Petroleum Marketers Association who spoke on Petroleum and Public Policy, and Exxon Mobil who spoke on the energy outlook of 2010.

The exhibition hall was populated by over 200 exhibitors ranging from fueling product manufacturers such as Gilbarco Veeder Root, Bennett Pumps and Dresser Wayne and ethanol industry groups such as Growth Energy, the Renewable Fuels Association and the American Coalition for Ethanol.

WPMA began in 1982. Each state association is organized with a President, Vice President, PMAA Director and area directors. Most of the state associations are members of the Petroleum Marketers Association of America (PMAA) which represents petroleum marketers on national issues in Washington D.C. Each state is able to have one marketer seated on the PMAA Board.

Mansfield Oil Company will be joining forces with Permeate Refining, an advanced biofuel producer that processes waste by-products, to market their product. According to PRWEB.com this three year partnership is in conjunction with C&N Companies to market ethanol. Permeate Refining Inc. is located in Hopkinton, IA and it's plant produces 3 million gallons of ethanol annually.

“This is our first relationship with an advanced biofuel plant that produces fuel ethanol from non-food feedstock, which also meets the new categories defined in the RFS2 guidelines. We believe a growing number of plants will be developed that can produce increasing quantities of biofuels from the widely distributed range of non-food feedstock. These facilities will be required to meet advanced biofuels and low carbon fuel standards. We are excited about Permeate’s current production capabilities, as well as their plans to expand their technology to plants nationwide that leverage local access to a wide range of feedstock,” said Douglas Haugh, EVP of Mansfield Oil.

Randy Less, General Manager for Permeate Refining is pleased to be working with C&N and is secure tthat the group can find the the best customers their products.

Jon Bjornstad, who founded C&N added, “I’m excited about the technology approach proven by Permeate’s current production and believe that their success is a testament to the progress being made today by the ethanol industry to produce greater volumes of the advanced biofuels required under RFS2.”

The second ethanol blender pump has opened in Missouri. The Temp Stop is located at 100 SE Todd George Road in Lee’s Summit, Missouri. The station will offer E20, E30, E85 and regular gasoline.

“With the addition of these blender pumps, consumers can seize the opportunity to utilize a homegrown, renewable fuel,” said Bradley Schad, Missouri Corn associate director of ethanol blends. “Not only does ethanol burn cleaner than gasoline, it helps reduce our dependence on foreign oil and keeps U.S. dollars here at home.”

According to the Missouri Corn Growers Association, the Temp Stop blender pumps are part of a pilot program with Missouri Corn and the Missouri Department of Agriculture Division of Weights and Measures.

“We’re proud to be part of this movement to promote a cleaner environment,” says Terry Green, CEO of Temp Stop in Lee’s Summit. “Together with our fuel supplier, CarterEnergy, we’re making E20, E30 and E85 available to our customers and offering them more choices than ever before when it comes to refueling their vehicles. These blended fuels give them a way to join the ‘green’ movement, too.”

Missouri Corn is currently working with additional retailers to establish more ethanol blending pump facilities in the state.

POET, the largest ethanol producer in the world, plans to announce plans of their process for Project LIBERTY, a 25-million-gallon-per-year cellulosic ethanol plant in Emmetsburg, Iowa. According to their press release, POET’s Senior Vice President of Science and Technology Mark Stowers will speak Thursday at the F.O. Licht’s 3rd Annual Developing and Commercialising Next Generation Biofuels conference in London detailing.

Project LIBERTY’s construction is scheduled to begin this year and will use corn cobs as feedstock. POET has operated a pilot cellulosic ethanol plant in Scotland, S.D. since November 2008. The location of this new plant will be alongside the Emmetsburg grain ethanol plant making a more efficient process.

A documentary of POET’s pilot cellulosic ethanol plant can be found by clicking here.

Pearson Fuels will not be receiving funding that they were awarded late last year. As first reported in the L.A. Times, the Southern California Association of Governments turned down the funding in which they applied, because they believe that corn-based ethanol causes more harm than good for the environment after being transported from the midwest. Also, the grant process was reportedly not followed correctly.

“We’re saying no to money from Washington,” said Thomas Buckley, a Lake Elsinore representative. “It probably doesn’t happen too often.”

Paul Wuebben, a clean fuels officer for the South Coast Air Quality Management District, urged the council to accept the dollars. Ethanol is not perfect, he said, but its wider use would reduce dependence on gasoline and remove pollutants from the air. He also called the panel’s decision a “major lost opportunity for the region.”

Wuebben attempted to sway the panel to reconsider along with Mike Lewis with Pearson Fuels, “It would have created 221 jobs. Dependence on foreign oil is the result of 1,000 little decisions and a few big decisions. This was a big decision.”

“We agree to reduce dependence on foreign oil,” said Keith Millhouse, a Moorpark representative and chairman of the Metrolink governing board. “This methodology, while well intended, is a bad way to go.”

A group that tracks fuel use in the state of Minnesota is reporting that state vehicles used 25% more E85 in 2009 than in 2008. According to the American Lung Association of Minnesota (ALAMN), the SmartFleet Committee estimates the 2,500 flexible fuel vehicles used 816,568 gallons of E85 in 2009, up from 650,036 gallons used in 2008.

In September 2004, Governor Tim Pawlenty signed Executive Order 04-10 which states that state vehicles use less petroluem based fuels and look for alternatives. Under this order, the SmartFleet Committee was formed, consisting of representatives designated by the commissioners of the Pollution Control Agency, Department of Agriculture and Department of Commerce among others to ensure effective and efficient state participation under this order.

According to SmartFleet’s recent report, E85 accounted for 15 percent of the total fuel used in 2009 by the state’s light duty vehicles. The state’s Higher Education office topped all other agencies with nearly 79 percent use of cleaner-burning E85. Other top agency users of E85 included Agriculture, the Governor’s Office, Mediation Services and Revenue.

“I am pleased to see steady progress again this year,” said Kelly Marczak, director for the American Lung Association in Minnesota’s clean fuel and vehicle technologies program and a member of the SmartFleet Committee. “The state’s use of E85 in 2009 prevented more than 3,250 tons of lifecycle carbon dioxide emissions and harmful pollutants from entering our air.”

Minnesota hosts more than 350 E85 fueling stations– more than any other state.