Domestic Fuel

Renault has introduced an FFV in France. Renault has focused on electric powered vehicles to lessen gasoline use in the past, but now the Romania based Dacia Logan MCV, now offers a vehicle that can use 100 percent gasoline up to 85 percent ethanol fuel.

The moderately priced 1.6-liter four cylinder FFV Renault replaces the former 1.6 MPI 90 version and, in France, purchase of the vehicle will be tax free. Renault reports that the CO2 emissions are much less so it will qualify for the badging for a low emissions vehicle.

The Logan MCV is available with either a five- or seven-seat configuration. The vehicle is manufactured by the brand’s ISO 14001-certified plant in Pitesti, Romania. It is available now in France.

The winner for the Renewable Fuels Association’s (RFA) E85 Flex-Fuel Challenge Cutest Kid Photo Contest is in – Latisha Martinex of Virgina Beach. Ms. Martinex will receive free ethanol for one year and her photo was selected by the judges based on creativity and quality.

More than 1,000 photos were submitted and of those, “Amira and her Snow Love,” submitted by Megan Pomeroy of Le Mars, Iowa, is the winner of a $500 ethanol fuel card after receiving the Most Voted award from daily votes on the E85 Challenge website.

“The Cutest Kid contest is the E85 Flex Fuel Challenge’s most successful marketing effort to date, reaching more than 1,000 families nationwide, said RFA Market Development Director, Robert White. “Contests such as this allow us to reach out to non traditional groups, like mothers, to introduce ourselves and better educate them on the value of renewable fuels. Congratulations to all the winners.”

The first 1,000 entrants for the Cutest Kid Photo Contest received a free eco-friendly reusable shopping bag filled with consumer information about Flex-Fuel Vehicles (FFVs), ethanol facts and a reusable bag fact sheet. The Cutest Kid Photo Contest was the 4th E85 Flex-Fuel Challenge Contest.

Daryl Hannah has changed her hat, per se, and along with the promotion of biodiesel, she is now promoting higher blends of ethanol. On Tuesday, March 23, 2010 Hannah’s ‘79 Pontiac Trans-Am, that was featured in the movie “Kill Bill,” will be featured in the TV show EcoReview. The Topic is The Greening of the Auto Industry: from Paint to Fuel and the host of the program is Tom Harvey. The show will take viewers though how alcohol fuel is produced and used around the world for transportation, cooking and heating. In addition, the program will highlight a new California certified smog station test that recently compared unleaded gas emissions to those of E10, E15 and E85. For those unable to get the show, you can watch it here.

Hannah’s next appearance will be during a press conference in Sacramento on March 24, 2010 to promote the E15 waiver. She along with David Blume, author of Alcohol Can Be a Gas, will present the Environmental Protection Agency with more research to substantiate the benefits of using E15 and higher blends of ethanol as a gas additive – information the EPA claims is lacking. The research presented will include the “Kill Bill” Trans-Am which was converted to run on ethanol last year and tested using the California certified smog test for E10, E15 and E85. The test shows that all blends not only meet but exceed the standards set out in the Clean Air Act. The event is being hosted at Sacramento’s “Flyer” E85 station located at 4250 John Madison Avenue, Sacramento California, beginning at 2:30 pm Pacific Time. For those that are interested but can’t make the event, it will be streamed live here.

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.”

Ethanol champion David Stoltz's converted E85 truck

Earlier this week, my colleague posted a story about Propel Fuels’ E85 promotion that took place on February 24 and several of its stations in Sacramento. It was a big success, drawing quite a bit of attention from both consumers and the media alike. Biofuels enthusiast, Paul Wikoff participated in the event and sent DomestcFuel some photos including one of local Sacramento resident Dave Stoltz’s and his 1984 Toyota truck that he converted to run E85 (larger jets in the carburetor). Stoltz also restored Darryl Hannah’s “Kill Bill” Trans Am and converted it to run on E85. Darryl Hannah is also a huge supporter and spokesperson for biodiesel.

Propel Fuels CEO Matt Horton Kicks Off E85 Promo

On hand for the event were Propel Fuels’ CEO Matt Horton, representatives from Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District and the US Postal Service. Wikoff noted that thousands of gallons of both ethanol and biodiesel were sold offsetting imported petroleum and lowering greenhouse gas emissions, which is a goal of the Low Carbon Fuels Standard that took effect in January of this year.

Propel Fuels was happy with the event and plans on monitoring its E85 and biodiesel sales over the next few weeks to determine if they gain more ethanol and biodiesel customers. The company is also planning on opening 50 more stations in San Francisco and Southern California this year and anticipates that it will support these new stations with additional E85 promotions. BTW – I just wanted to send Paul a special thanks for sending us the story and pictures!

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.