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In
This Issue: |
FYI Newsletter Volume 9, Issue 1, January 7, 2004
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Preferred
Procurement Program
Announced for Federal Agencies
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E85 Now Available in Garnett, Kansas
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NEVC 2004 Budget and Planning Meeting
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How to Convert a Gasoline or Diesel Tank
to Store E85 |
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Funding Announcement
Anticipated from DOE
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EPAC Acquires FFV
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Letters to the NEVC |
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Preferred Procurement Program Announced for Federal
Agencies |
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On December
17, 2003, Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman announced a
proposed procurement program of biobased products by
federal agencies. The program, if initiated, will require
Federal Agencies to use greater amounts of biobased
products, including E85.
“This builds upon President Bush’s commitment to
promoting energy independence while protecting the
environment,” said Veneman. “This program will improve
environmental health by using renewable resources from our
farms and forests to produce products that have been
previously derived from fossil energy sources. This
program will enhance the development of high performing
and environmentally friendly products.”
The Federal
Biobased Procurement Program was authorized by Section
9002 of the Farm Bill passed in 2002. The program is
similar to Executive Order 13141 signed into law by the
Clinton Administration in 1998. The order mandates
federal fleets to decrease their petroleum use by 20
percent by the year 2005. The Procurement Program goes a
step further to mandate Federal Agencies to use biobased
products.
During debate
on the Farm Bill, Congress conceived three primary
objectives that would apply to section 9002. The first
objective is to improve demand for biobased products. As
a second objective, Congress wants to stimulate the
development of value-added agricultural processing and
manufacturing in rural communities. The third objective is
to enhance the Nation’s energy security by substituting
domestically produced biobased products for fossil
energy-based products derived from imported oil and
natural gas.
For more information about the Federal Biobased
Procurement Program, visit
http://www.biobased.oce.usda.gov/public/index.cfm. |
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E85 Now Available in Garnett, Kansas |
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The Kansas
Corn Commission (KCC) along with the NEVC recently
introduced the third E85 fueling station in Kansas. The
Petro Plus station in Garnett, Kansas began pumping the
renewable-fuel the third week of December 2003. The city
is the home of the KCC, Kansas Corn Growers Association,
and the Kansas Grain sorghum Producers Association.
"Our
organizations have been using E85 fuel for over a decade
and have never experienced any problems in any of our
vehicles," according to KCC Director of Value Added
Programs, Robert White.
The
4000-gallon E85 tank is open from 5 a.m. until 10 p.m.
Sunday-Thursday and from 5 a.m. until 11 p.m. Friday and
Saturday. Along with unleaded and E10 blended gasoline,
the station offers an ATM machine, a convenience store,
Chester Fried Chicken and the pay-at-the-pump option.
"This is
another big step toward expanding the E85 fueling
infrastructure," said White. "We are confident that more
E85 fueling sites will open in the state. It is our goal
to make this fuel widely available to motorists who drive
flexible-fuel vehicles."
E85 is also
available in Topeka at the Topeka Travel Plaza located at
1235 Wanamaker Road and in Maize at the Maize Kwik Shop at
5340 North Maize Road. A complete listing of all E85
fueling locations can be found at
www.E85Fuel.com. |
From left to right:
Robert White of KCC
and Petro Plus owners
Dave Lybarger and
Tom Miller. |
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On December
14-15, 2003 the NEVC Board of Directors met in Winter
Park, Colorado to consider the 2004 budget and legislative
agenda. Board Members and representatives from the states
of Iowa, Missouri, Texas, Montana, Colorado, Kansas,
Arizona, New Mexico, Minnesota, and Nebraska were in
attendance.
We
would like to thank the staff of the Vintage Lodge and
Conference Center for their outstanding accommodations,
courtesy, and assistance in making this event a success.
On your next trip to the Winter Park area, we encourage
you to consider the friendly folks at the
Vintage Lodge. |
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Preparing to
retail E85 does not have to cost a fortune. A new E85
compatible tank does not have to be purchased. E85 can
easily be stored in an existing underground gasoline or
diesel tank. However, the tank must meet EPA
requirements. The following steps provide a brief outline
on converting an existing tank to dispense E85.
First, pump
out any remaining gasoline or diesel from the tank.
Storing gasoline and diesel underground causes some
particulates to accumulate and form sludge so secondly,
you must clean out the tank.
There are four
methods in which you may clean the tank. One is to use a
filter agitator device. Another is to physically enter
the tank and steam clean the sludge. A third is to use a
robotic cannon to liquefy the sludge. Or you can place a
chemical cleaner in the tank to clean the walls. After
the tank walls are cleaned, the sludge must be pumped out
of the tank.
Next, it is
wise, although not necessary, to add 100 gallons of E10
gasoline and then pump out all E10 and any remaining
residue. Follow this by adding 500 gallons of E10
gasoline and then selling the E10 gasoline.
Now the tank
is ready to store the E85 product and you must prepare
your pump for consumer use. Be sure to install an
E85-compatible non-aluminum nozzle (nickel-plated or
steel); compatible breakaways and Teflon-lined hose with
stainless steel ends/fittings to pump. Lastly, install a
1-micron (instead of 10-micron gasoline) dispenser
filter.
  Finally,
decal the pump with E85 logos and/or stickers, cautionary
statement and
orange/black Federal Trade Sticker
(seen right), an
E85
nozzle cover,
pump topper and make available point of sale
brochures as needed to train customer behavior and to
promote the new product. Also, be sure to display the
price of E85 on price marquis. These pump items are all
available through the NEVC at
http://www.e85fuel.com/nevc/promoitems.htm.
You are now
ready to sell the E85 product. Remember to change the
filter on the pump regularly and change the blend of the
fuel as the seasons change. Contact the NEVC should you
have any questions. |
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Funding Announcement Anticipated from DOE |
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The
Department of Energy will soon announce a State Energy
Program (SEP) Special Projects Opportunity for financial
assistance for special projects intended to increase
energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies. This
SEP is anticipated to be released on January 8, 2004.
DOE
is expected to distribute about $5 million throughout
Clean City Coalition areas through the 2004 SEP. In 2003,
over $525,000 was committed to E85 projects.
The
awards will be made available through a competitive
process. The funding application will be available on the
“Industry Interactive Procurement System” (IIPS) web page
located at
http://e-center.doe.gov or at
http://www.netl.doe.gov/business.
For additional
information, contact Kelly A. McDonald at
kelly.mcdonald@netl.doe.gov, or at (304) 285-4113. |
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EPAC Acquires FFV |
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 Ethanol
Producers and Consumers (EPAC) has recently acquired a
2003 E85 compatible Ford Explorer for use of travel and
display. The vehicle's two-year lease was made
possible with the help of the NEVC, the Montana Wheat and
Barley Committee, and Ford Motor Company. The FFV is adorned with "Ethanol Powered" signs with the
colors signifying blue for the clean sky, gold as the
grain that makes the fuel, and green to show the earth.
The FFV is
intended to further EPAC's goals to develop citizens'
awareness of ethanol and educate on the benefits of
ethanol as a clean renewable, efficient source of energy.
Visit their website at
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NEVC Board Meeting Announced |
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The
National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition’s annual board and
membership meeting has been scheduled for March 1, 2004
from 8 a.m. to noon in Las Vegas, Nevada in conjunction
with the 2004 Commodity Classic. More information will
be available soon. |
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NEW NEVC Staff - Roger Listenberger |
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The National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition is pleased to
announce that on
January
15, 2004, Roger Listenberger
will be engaged by the NEVC to assist our members,
partners, and advocates in securing cost effective
supplies of E85.
Roger recently completed a 25 year career in ethanol sales
with Archer-Daniels-Midland and has extensive experience
in terminal locations, ethanol transportation,
distribution, wholesaling, and marketing. Roger will be
available to respond to one of the major questions that we
address here at the NEVC, “After I get a wholesale account
or put in a station, how can I go about getting a
dependable supply of E85?”
Roger will be a valuable and important addition to the
NEVC and we are very pleased to welcome him to our staff.
On January 15, Roger may be reached via our toll free
number of (877) 485-8595, extension 7 or via-email at
rlistenberger@e85fuel.com. |
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Letters
to the NEVC |
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Letters to the NEVC -
This section highlights emails that the NEVC has recently
received. Many of the comments or suggestions that
we receive are of interest to a wider audience and we
would like to share them with our readers. |
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E85 Education
Hello
Michelle...I have written before. I am an ole Country Boy
with a Bachelor's in Agriculture and am trying hard to get
the word out on E85. I have written Letters to the Editor,
locally, and have spoken to Service Clubs about E85.
This all seems to be a very uphill battle given the lack
of information about same in the general population and
the near total unavailability of E85 here in Eastern Iowa.
This morning I had all of this brought home in Spades when
I went out shopping for a new or used pickup which will
burn E85. At a GM dealership and at a Mazda dealership,
the Salespeople do not have a clue about E85 or that their
product line includes vehicles which will burn same. If I
didn't have the information to coach them through the
process (which I gleaned from your website), I would never
have found such a vehicle. The Mazda salesperson said that
he had been selling Mazda cars, vans and trucks for 5
years and he was totally unaware that his company had such
vehicles, and has for 4 years. To all of this, Michelle, I
say HELP, HELP!
I know that you and NEVC personnel must come up against
this daily. It is amazing to me that Ignorance and Apathy
about this fuel source on the part of the General Public
is so monumental.
Thanks for listening and for anything that you might be
able to do in this regard.
Merry
Christmas to you and the NEVC personnel.
Best Regards,
Jim Becker, Muscatine, Iowa
. . .
Jim,
Thank you for your note. We heartily agree with your
concerns and are working hard to overcome them. We are
currently working with the automobile manufacturers on
educating their sales people on E85 and flexible-fuel
vehicles. We appreciate individuals as yourself helping
in our efforts. . .
-Michelle
Kautz
Denatured Ethanol
Hello,
My question is
why spoil the ethanol by mixing with gasoline?
I ran my Honda
station wagon on a mix of 51% ethanol and 49% water. This
was during the Arab oil stoppage.
It required
only a mixture adjustment to reduce the air in the
fuel-air mix. This resulted with a performance improvement
and an improvement of almost 30% better mileage. It
started fine and ran wonderful during the
summer.
During the
winter it still started and ran fine but I could not use
it on the road because of the fog it generated. The water
vapor impaired the visibility of the vehicles in back of
me.
By adding an
exhaust cooler and water condensation recovery system this
problem can be eliminated. Then the reuse of the same
water would allow the burning of 100% ethanol. But because
of the water injection system the mileage improvement
would appear as better than 140% better than gasoline.
This water injection system will not work correctly if the
ethanol is contaminated with gasoline.
Question where
can I purchase ethanol without gasoline? It can be
denatured with isopropyl.
John
. . .
John,
Thanks for
your interest in the use of ethanol and for your personal
commitment to the use of domestic-renewable transportation
fuels.
Today it is
very possible to operate a vehicle on "straight ethanol"
if such a product was available. However, current tax law
requires that fuel ethanol be denatured with hydrocarbons
and given the fact that there is not a "dedicated ethanol"
pump in the nation, it would be very unlikely that the
automakers will build a dedicated ethanol vehicle any time
soon.
It has been
our experience with compressed natural gas, electric
vehicles, and dedicated propane vehicles, that consumers
are unwilling to limit their driving habits to the small
operating range that would be needed in order to keep fuel
in the vehicle. Additionally, Ford Motor Company sold
less than 250 dedicated natural gas vehicles in Model year
2003, so a dedicated alternative fuel vehicle does not
seem to have much demand.
Our goal is to
bring as many E85 vehicles into the nation's
transportation fuel system as possible as these vehicles
can operate on any blend of ethanol from 0% to 85%.
Today, most cars can operate on a 10% blend of ethanol,
but that still leaves much in the way of dependence on
imported petroleum. Thanks again for your interest and
please contact us any time we may be of
assistance.
-Phil Lampert
Thanks for the emails to the NEVC! Feel free to
email us with your comments at anytime.
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January 10-14, 2004
American Farm Bureau Federation 85th Convention and Annual
Meeting in Honolulu, HI. For more information, visit
www.fb.org.
February 3-5, 2004
MidAtlantic Regional
Clean Cities Coordinator's meeting in Williamsburg, VA.
For more information, contact Nic van Vuuren at (757)
873-6239.
February 20-21, 2004
Petroleum and Convenience-Store Exposition at the Edward
Jones Dome in St Louis, MO. For more information, visit
www.paceexpo.org.
March 1, 2004
NEVC Annual Board and Membership Meeting in Las Vegas,
NV. More information will be available soon.
March 2-4, 2004
Commodity Classic 2004 in Las Vegas, NV. For more
information, visit
www.commodityclassic.com.
March 5-8, 2004
National Farmers Union Annual Convention at the
Billings Hotel and Convention Center in Billings, MT.
For more information, contact (303) 337-5500.
March 8-11, 2004
8th Annual Western States Clean Cities Conference at the
Westin Hotel Tabor Center in Denver, Colorado. For
more information, contact Tim Cunningham at
(303)
388-4327.
March 15-17, 2004
Midwest Petroleum Marketers Expo in
Omaha, Nebraska. For more information call (515)
224-7545.
April 17-20, 2004
National Association of Fleet Administrators Conference in
Atlanta, GA. For more information, visit
http://www.nafa.org/
May 2-5, 2004
10th Annual National Clean Cities Conference at
Greater Ft. Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center in
Fort Lauderdale, FL. For more information, visit
http://www.ccities.doe.gov/conference/lauderdale/
June 13-15, 2004
14th Annual EPAC Ethanol
Conference at the Great Northern Hotel in Helena, Montana.
For more information, email
shirley@ethanolmt.org.
July 20-22, 2004
FedFleet 2004: The Road to the Future is Now at the Jacob
K. Javits Convention Center in New York, NY. For more
information, visit
www.fedfleet.org.
CONTACT US. . .
Please feel free to e-mail your story suggestions,
comments, corrections or clarifications to us at
info@e85fuel.com or
call us toll free at 877-485-8595.
Phillip J. Lampert, Executive Director
info@e85.com
Randa Barker, Director of Administration
info@e85.com
Michelle Kautz, Director of Communications
mkautz@e85fuel.com
Roger
Listenberger, Director of E85 Fuel Networking
rlistenberger@e85fuel.com
Louise
Saucier, Membership Coordinator
lsaucier@E85Fuel.com
Christi Vander
Voort, NEVC Iowa E85 Coordinator
cvandervoort@E85Fuel.com
You may view this FYI online at
http://www.e85fuel.com/news/index.htm
NEVC promotes the use of 85
percent ethanol as a renewable form of alternative
transportation fuel while enhancing agricultural
profitability, advancing environmental stewardship and
promoting national energy independence. |
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