Corn-Powered Fuel Catching On

(AP)  Like lots of motorists, Chuck Nye thought he had no choice but to grin and bear it as rising gas prices made filling up his minivan a painful experience.

But then he heard a radio ad promoting E85 — a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline — that sells for an average of about 45 cents per gallon less than regular unleaded. Inside his fuel door was a sticker saying Nye had a flexible fuel vehicle, which can burn the homegrown alternative.

Nye was sold.

"It's good gas," he said while fueling up at a Holiday station just off Interstate 35E in this Twin Cities suburb. "I haven't noticed any difference in gas mileage performance or engine performance as well."

The station's sign showed what Nye was saving: $2.07 per gallon for unleaded compared with $1.62 for E85.

Interest in E85 has been growing in recent months due to frequent spikes in gasoline prices. Promoters say it's not only cheaper, it reduces America's dependence on foreign oil and burns cleaner. And it's a boost to the Midwest farm economy because ethanol is distilled mainly from corn.

More than 4 million flexible fuel vehicles — which can run on any blend of gasoline and up to 85 percent ethanol — are currently on the road in the United States, according to government figures.

But most of them rarely use E85. Sometimes it's because owners don't know they can, but mainly it's due to the limited availability of the fuel, according a report from the U.S. Department of Transportation and Environmental Protection Agency. About 400 retail filling stations offer E85 nationwide, most located in the Midwest.

But that number is rising, according to Tim Gerlach, director of outdoor air programs for the American Lung Association of Minnesota and a leader in the E85 push.

Minnesota has close to 150 E85 pumps, Gerlach said, more than any other state by far. Illinois, a top corn-producing state that has been another leader in promoting E85, has about 20 stations with a goal of 100 by the end of next year.

"It's mainly a Midwestern corn-ethanol thing right now but it is spreading, and I think once it catches on you're going to see a lot of attention on it," Gerlach said.

Availability on the East and West Coasts is likely to grow if Congress approves a proposed tax incentive for stations to install E85 equipment, said Michelle Kautz, spokeswoman for the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition. That provision is part of the energy bill approved by the Senate on Tuesday, but is not in the House version and is one of several differences that must be reconciled in conference committee.

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