On June 17, 2009, the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District held a press conference at the Flyers/Valero Station in North Highlands to celebrate the completion of E-85 fueling locations that are now open to the public. This puts Sacramento as the leader with the largest concentration of E-85 locations west of the Mississippi. The project that made this status possible was funded by a $3.5 million grant from the California Air Resources Board (CARB) that was administered by the Air District. Local fuel suppliers where then eligible to apply for grants in order to partially fund the installation of the E-85 pumps at their stations. There are now 23 retail, 4 cardlock and 2 fleet stations in the greater Sacramento Metroplex.
Our region has an estimated 23,000 E-85 capable vehicles on the road at this time. The California Energy Commission recently projected that by the year 2020 there will be roughly 4.2 million Flexible Fuel capable vehicles (FFVs) in use in the state. According to the California Environmental Protection Agency – Air Resources Board, “many of the new cars/light trucks offered by U.S. manufacturers are expected to be FFVs after 2012”.
What does all of this mean to us? E-85 reduces global warming, offsets gasoline use and promotes forward movement toward California’s goal of cleaner air. The increase in use of E-85 will lower the demand for oil which will help to keep prices down. Additionally, since ethanol can be produced locally, we can depend less on foreign oil. This will provide jobs and assist in bringing money into our state and keeping it here. Most ethanol is currently produced from corn. However, new technology is emerging that will allow ethanol to be created from plant-based (cellulosic) waste materials such as yard waste. Producing cellulosic ethanol offers many benefits such as even further lowering greenhouse gas emissions than the current grain-based ethanol does, as well as reducing the size of our landfills. Scientists hope to make cellulosic ethanol a reality in the near future.
If you’re in the market to buy a new car soon and the model you desire is offered as an FFV you may want to consider that as an option. The cost of E-85 per gallon is typically 20-30% less than regular unleaded gasoline, and has been shown to be more resistant to engine knock. Sasha Faught of Natomas was on hand at the June 17 press conference to demonstrate the ease of filling your vehicle with E-85. Sasha purchased her 2007 Flex Fuel Chevy Tahoe at the end of 2006, and stated that she has not had a single performance issue when switching from gasoline to E-85. She did, however, tell us that she has noticed that her vehicle has more Horsepower! She is very happy to see so many locations now available for her to utilize the main reason she chose an FFV – to do her part in going green in every way she can.
For more information on E-85 and Flexible Fuel Vehicles, you can visit www.ethanolrfa.org.