A recent announcement was made by Michigan Governor Jennifer M. Granholm and Michigan Department of Labor & Economic Growth Director Keith W. Cooley that will allow funding for E85 infrastructure at fourteen retail facilities throughout Michigan. This endeavor is part of an initiative that will bring more renewable fuels to the state.

“Investing in alternative energy infrastructure and promoting the use of ethanol is an important element of our effort to diversity Michigan’s economy,” Granholm said. “This program will help deliver the 267 million gallons of ethanol per year Michigan already produces and will deliver advanced cellulosic ethanol as it comes online.”

Stations will receive up to $70,000 to install their E85 infrastrucure. All have agreed to begin selling the alternative fuel by November 15 of this year. The awardees and cities they will be selling the fuel are:

Corrigan Oil Corp., (Brighton)
Coyne Oil Corp., (Mount Pleasant)
Downtown Wixom Development, (Wixom)
Haggerty Joy Mobil, (Canton)
Jawad Marathon, (Southfield)
Ten & Greenfield Sunoco, (Oak Park)
274 Gratiot Corp., (New Haven)
Speedway SuperAmerica LLC, (Cheboygan)
Speedway SuperAmerica LLC, (Davison)
Speedway SuperAmerica LLC, (Jackson)
Speedway SuperAmerica LLC, (Lansing)
Speedway SuperAmerica LLC, (Lansing)
Speedway SuperAmerica LLC, (Livonia)
Speedway SuperAmerica LLC, (Ypsilanti)

Stations can also use the Federal income tax credit that will allow 30 percent of the cost of their project up to $30,000.

There are currently 70 E85 fueling facilties across the state of Michigan.

DETROIT – General Motors will offer 18 flexible fuel vehicles (FFVs) in model year 2009. The number of E85 compatible vehicle models available in 2009 is a sharp increase from the past following the group’s commitment to making their line at least half E85 compatible by 2012.

“We continue to believe that biofuels, specifically E85, is the most significant thing we can do in the near-term to offset future energy demands,” said Beth Lowery, GM vice president of Environment, Energy and Safety Policy. “We are on target to make 50 percent of our vehicles flex-fuel capable by 2012 providing the infrastructure is in place.”

The models cover the gamut from the four-cylinder Chevrolet HHR small crossover to the full-size Cadillac Escalade ESV luxury utility.

Infrastructure includes both the availability of the E85 fuel and stations where it is sold. Currently, there are more than 1,600 E85 stations thorughout the U.S.

GM cars and trucks account for 3 million of the 7 million flex-fuel vehicles on U.S. roadways and the company produced more than 1 million flex-fuel models in North America and Brazil last year.

Below is the listing of 2009 models GM offers that include flex-fuel capability at no additional charge to the customer:

Chevrolet: Avalanche, Express, HHR, HHR Panel, Impala, Silverado, Suburban, Tahoe

GMC: Savana, Sierra, Yukon, Yukon XL

Cadillac: Escalade, Escalade ESV, Escalade EXT

Hummer: H2, H2 SUT

Buick: Lucerne

“We are pleased to see the increasing number of models of FFVs that General Motors will be offering during model year 2009 and are especially excited about the new 4 cylinder addition to their E85 model lineup,” stated Executive Director of the NEVC, Phil Lampert.

Zarco 66 Earth Friendly Fuels plans to celebrate the opening of their eco-friendly fueling facility on Monday, June 30. The station is being designed under a public-private partnership as a demonstration project to showcase various energy technologies and feature sustainability elements on site.

Blends of ethanol, including E85, and biodiesel will be available at 900 Iowa St., in Lawrence, Kansas. Kicking off the celebration will be a press event that includes speakers: Sam Brownback, U.S. Senator, Kansas (invited); Pat Roberts, U.S. Senator, Kansas (invited); John Askew, Regional Administrator, EPA Region 7; and Adrian Polansky, Secretary, Kansas Dept. of Agriculture.

Ethanol fuel blend promotions will be held during the day from 11:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. E10 will sell at a 20 cent discount, E20 will sell for a 40 cent discount, E30 will sell for a 60 cent discount and E85 will sell for $1.85 per gallon.

Partners in this alternative fueling facility include: EPA Region 7, Ethanol Promotion and Information Council, University of Kansas, Kansas Dept. of Health and Environment, Kansas Dept. of Agriculture, Kansas Dept. of Revenue, Kansas Dept. of Commerce, Kansas Soybean Commission, Kansas Corn Growers, U.S. Dept. of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy in Kansas, Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association of Kansas, and Zarco 66 Earth Friendly Fuels.

E85 will sell for 85 cents per gallon for 85 minutes celebrating the opening of the first publicly accessed E85 fueling location in the state of Massachusetts. Dennis K. Burke, Inc. plans to hold a grand opening celebration on Thursday, June 26 at their new biofuels center at 410 Beacham St. in Chelsea.

“We’re very excited about the grand opening on Thursday. We are currently competively pricing the product at $2.85 per gallon,” said Dennis K. Burke, Inc.’s Chairman of the Board, Ed Burke. “Thanks to Irving Oil, Chelsea Fire, State Fire Marshal and Gov. Patrick’s administration, E85 is now available in Massachusetts.”

Thursday’s ribbon cutting will begin at 10:30 a.m. and will be hosted by Ed Burke and the company President, Ted Burke. Chelsea City Manager Jay Ash will emcee the event. Several state and local officials, as well as “green” industry friends are expected to attend. The E85 promotion, sponsored by General Motors, will begin following the ribbon cutting.

Burke is one of New England’s largest suppliers of diesel fuel, gasoline and motor oil products. The family-owned business has over 45 years of reliable service. They will also offer biodiesel at the Chelsea fueling facility, the first in the state.

The tenth E85 fueling station in Tucson, Arizona will offer E85 for $1.85 per gallon on Wednesday, June 25 in celebration of their grand opening. The Quik Mart at 1026 E. Irvington Road, at the intersection with Houghton Road in Tucson, will offer the alternative fuel at the discounted rate from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m.

“Bringing a clean fuel alternative like E85 to the Tucson consumer, being a good community partner and being a part of building a better tomorrow was important to Quik Mart,” said Troy Little, owner of the Quik Mart. “It just made sense.”

Quik Mart will also offer a jumbo hot dog, small bag of chips and 32-ounce soft drink for just $1.85.

“Opening Tucson’s 10th E85 site tells me that E85 is not only selling well for the other nine sites, but it also has found a permanent home in Tucson,” said Colleen Crowninshield, manager of the Tucson Clean Cities program at Pima Association of Governments. “With gas prices pushing $4 a gallon and the
need to reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil more apparent than ever, we’re proud to be a part of fueling Tucson for $1.85 with clean alternatives to petroleum, such as E85. We’d like to thank Quik Mart and all of our other stations for bringing these fuels to the Tucson region.”

The E85 fuel promotion is sponsored by the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council.

The Family Express chain in Northern Indiana reports tripled sales of E85 since they began selling the product for $2.99 per gallon nearly a month ago. Customers are touting the alternative fuel blend as being less expensive than regular unleaded gasoline and that is why they claim to use it.

The National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition (NEVC) recommends to retailers to price the product at least 20 percent below unleaded to make up for the fuel economy loss that is evident. “It has less energy in it,” than petroleum, Executive Director of the NEVC Phil Lampert said. “But if it’s priced at 20 percent lower, most motorists will gain some value.”

Family Express President and CEO Gus Olympidis said he dropped the price of E85 to $2.99 a gallon at his northern Indiana stations not only because ethanol “is cheaper right now than gasoline,” but because U.S. grown corn goes into the blend. “We make it here,” Olympidis said.

Competing fuel retailers have also dropped the cost of their E85 to stay competitive and have noted that sales have also increased considerably.

The Senior Vice President of Marketing for Kum & Go is Kevin Krause. His company has been very involved in the promotion of ethanol by blending it with regular unleaded gas and offering E85 pumps. This year the company worked with the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council and the Iowa Corn Promotion Board to hold a pump promotion at their store in Ankeny, IA.

He says that the focus is on E85 and with the gas price challenges they wanted to help bring community awareness to the flex fuel vehicles that are on the road. He says it also recognizes the farmers who are helping grow the corn that’s being turned into fuel right now.

You can listen to my interview with Kevin here:

Or watch it on this video:

Iowa Corn Indy 250 Photo Album

Moving beyond ten percent ethanol offers both opportunities and challenges for the industry.

On a panel addressing the issue at the 2008 Fuel Ethanol Workshop Tuesday was Robert White with the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council (EPIC). White has spearheaded the nationwide pump branding and E85 program for EPIC and he talked about some of the success stories they have seen just recently.

“An E85 station recently opened in metro Atlanta,” said White. “The station has been opened about five weeks and as of Saturday they were selling 1800 gallons of E85 a day, compared to 1750 gallons of regular unleaded a day.”

EPIC helped to open the station, made sure it was branded, held a pump promotion and grand opening event with state officials, and send notifications out to fleets in the area. “One station that has been opened five weeks has the potential of selling 650,000 gallons of E85 a year,” White said. “That’s amazing.”

He also talked about the importance of moving toward blender pumps, which can offer a variety of blends between 10 and 85 percent ethanol. “Our recent research found that 45 percent of Americans are seeking out alternatives, they want choices, and specifically they’re looking for ethanol,” said White.

He noted that E85 and mid-level blends give consumers choices, help retail fuel stations offer customers something new, and help ethanol plants sell more product.

Listen to Robert’s address to the 2008 FEW here:

2008 Fuel Ethanol Workshop Photo Album

In celebration of the Iowa Corn Indy 250, E85 will be sold at a discount at 25 location on Thursday, June 19. This promotion will take place at 15 Kum & Go stations and 10 additional stations throughout the state.

Kum & Go will discount E85 at the following locations from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

2801 13th Ave., Ames
1910 SW White Birch Circle, Ankeny
2905 4th Ave., S Clear Lake
1950 Princeton Dr., Grimes
715 Long Creek Ave, Grinnel
6130 NW 86th Street, Johnston
2091 E Main St, Lamoni
1920 South Federal Avenue, Mason City
29356 298th, Neola
2991 Sunset Drive, Norwalk
2508 North Court St, Ottumwa
5970 Morning Star Court, Pleasant Hill
141 S. Jordan Creek Parkway, West Des Moines
822 1st Avenue, Coralville
1206 Guthrie Street, De Soto

E85 will be sold at a $1.85 discount at the following stores from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Eastern Iowa Propane & Petro, 4540 Lincolnway Street, Clinton
Lakeside Ampride, 4040 S. Expressway, Council Bluffs
Madison Avenue Ampride, 1836 Madison Avenue, Council Bluffs
Big 10 Mart, 2100 JFK Road, Dubuque
Riverside Sinclair, 102 Central Ave., Estherville
218 Fuel Express, 68 Monroe St, Floyd
New Century FS, 1017 Ogan Avenue, Grinnell
County Line Mart, 609 East Broadway, Keota
Casey’s General Store, Hwy 141, Mapleton
Prairie Gas, 4300 South 22nd East, Newton

The state of Iowa currently houses 90 E85 fueling stations.

E85 will sell for $2.99 per gallon at the Bloomfield Hills Sunoco fueling facility at 42994 Woodward Ave., in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. This promotion is part of a a joint effort with the Corn Marketing Program of Michigan and the Detroit Area Clean Cities Coalition from noon until 4 p.m. on Thursday, June 19.

A press conference will begin at 11 a.m. with featured speakers expected to include: Patricia Lockwood, Michigan Department of Agriculture; Jody Pollok-Newsom, Corn Marketing Program of Michigan; Douglas Smith, Oakland County; Maggie Striz Calnin, Detroit Area Clean Cities, Lansing Area Clean Cities, and Next Energy; and Rocky Yaldo, Sunoco station owner.

According to the Corn Marketing Program of Michigan, there are five operational ethanol plants with the capacity to produce approximately 250 million gallons of ethanol per year. The state houses 64 E85 fueling locations to date.