In This Issue:

FYI Newsletter Volume 9, Issue 5, March 30, 2004 

•  National AFV Day Odyssey Event
    Showcases Alternative Choices in
    Transportation

•  Gas Prices Too High? 
    Well, E85 Ethanol Blend is 40 Cents
    Cheaper

•  NEVC Attends Midwest Petroleum
    Marketers' Convention

 •  New E85 Location in Smithville, MO

•  VeraSun Ethanol Plant Grand
     Opening

•  New E85 Station in Oakes, ND
• Tennessee Valley Authority’s Robert
    Harris Receives Wheeler McMillen
    Award

 •  Ethanol and Energy

•  Letters to the NEVC

National AFV Day Odyssey Event Showcases Alternative Choices in Transportation

The National Alternative Fuels Training Consortium (NAFTC) at West Virginia University has announced that the National Alternative Fuel Vehicle Day Odyssey will be held April 2, 2004. At more than 50 sites across the country, nearly 80 organizations have signed on to spread the word about the variety of alternatives to gasoline-powered vehicles available for consumers today. 

Attendees will participate in a variety of interesting activities that will include “ride and drive” demonstrations of vehicles from major manufacturers, as well as presentations on the many alternative fuels and advanced technologies that make them a smart choice in transportation.

“AFVs run on all kinds of fuels. There’re CNG, propane, ethanol, electric and hydrogen powered vehicles. On April 2, 2004, every Odyssey site across the country will have information about alternative fuels and the cars, trucks and buses that run on them,” said Al Ebron, NAFTC Executive Director. “The NAFTC and its Training Centers teach classes on all of these vehicles, no matter what fuel they use, and our message remains the same--AFVs are one solution for meeting America’s energy needs for transportation.”

“National AFV Day Odyssey events have proven to be a great way to get the word out that there’s a growing market for AFVs and the fuels they run on,” said Meg Baughman, co-coordinator of National AFV Day Odyssey. “Odyssey offers alt fuels professionals a way and a place to get together. They can present information to participants, meet other experts in the alternative fuels industry, and find out more about services offered by the NAFTC and its National Training Centers,” Baughman added. “Alt fuels insiders, driving consumers, and AFV technicians all come together at Odyssey, because there’s something for everyone, no matter what their involvement is in the alternative fuels industry.”

Baughman reported that more than 17,000 people attended an Odyssey event in 2002. “We’re getting the message out—thousands of people will learn about alternative fuels and AFVs at an Odyssey event this year, and many more will hear the AFV message through media broadcasts across the country,” said Baughman.

For more information about local Odyssey events, contact the NAFTC at Odyssey2004@mail.wvu.edu or visit www.NationalAFVDayOdyssey.org on the web.

  

Gas Prices Too High?  Well, E85 Ethanol Blend is 40 Cents Cheaper

- by Lisa Davis of grandforksherald.com

Gas prices are rising across the country. But if you have the right car in the right town, you can save an average of 40 cents per gallon by filling with E85. A fuel consisting of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline, its advocates say E85 is better for the environment than straight gasoline. Kim Christianson, energy program manager with the North Dakota Department of Commerce, said ethanol offers great benefits to farmers in the state, to the environment, and to the user. "It's a direct benefit not only to folks who produce ethanol, but to farmers and land owners who grow corn," he said.  And, lately, it benefits consumers because of its cost.

"Ethanol costs should be more stable than regular gasoline," Christianson said.

That's certainly the case at Cenex in Devils Lake.  Like everywhere else in the country, gas prices in Devils Lake have increased along with global crude oil prices as OPEC tightens production. On Friday, gasoline prices stood at $1.82 for unleaded or super unleaded.

But the price of ethanol, determined by things such as corn prices and tax policy, has stayed steady. E85 was selling for $1.39 a gallon Friday.

Emil Gregory, manager at the station, said the E85 became available there in January.  He said sales haven't been great - averaging at about 1,000 to 1,500 gallons each month - but Farmers Union Oil feels that a new source of energy, especially one that benefits the state, should be used locally as much as possible.

"We have two ethanol plants in North Dakota, so why not support our own corn growers?" he said.

That was another point Christianson brought up. Because E85 is just 15 percent gasoline, using it also reduces the country's dependence on foreign oil.

Disadvantages

But there are some disadvantages, too.

Christianson said cars running on E85, rather than gas with 10 percent ethanol, see a drop off in the number of miles they can travel per gallon of fuel. And only certain cars can run on E85.

"It can be used in 'flexible fuel' vehicles only," Gregory said.

Most cars that can use E85 were built after 2000. In a flexible fuel vehicle, onboard diagnostics "read" the fuel blend, enabling the driver to fuel with E85 or gasoline in any combination from a single tank.  He said the easiest way is to find out if you can fill your car with E85 is to check your car's manual or to contact your dealer.  But he added that more motor companies are beginning to manufacture cars that can use alternative fuels.

Availability

Although E85 may be better for the environment, it's simply not available everywhere yet.  Stamart in Grand Forks used to sell it, but decided to drop it because sales didn't go well.

In North Dakota, there are five stations that carry E85: Fargo, West Fargo, Devils Lake, Bismarck and Oakes. In Minnesota, 90 stations carry the fuel, including one in Moorhead.  Christianson said the goal of the governor's office is to get at least one E85 station in each of the major cities in North Dakota: Grand Forks, Fargo, Bismarck, Devils Lake, Minot, Dickinson, Williston and Jamestown.

They also are working with some of the smaller areas to make the fuel available, offering matching grant dollars to assist with the cost of installing E85.

In addition, he said, the two offices are working on a marketing initiative for ethanol to make people aware of E85.  Until then, he said they will concentrate on getting people to fuel with 10 percent blend.  "We really just want to get word out about ethanol fuel and its benefits to North Dakota," he said.  He said between 25 percent and 30 percent of vehicles that now refuel use an ethanol blend. They hope to increase that number to 50 percent in three years.

For more information, visit www.e85fuel.com.

NEVC Attends Midwest Petroleum Marketers' Convention
 


 From left to right:  Tim Gerlach & Christi Vander Voort of the NEVC;
Bernie Punt, GM of Siouxland
 Energy & Livestock Coop; &
 Walt Sampson,
Ethanol Specialist with Iowa
Corn  Growers Assn.

 Staff members of the NEVC recently attended the Nebraska-Iowa Petroleum Marketers Convention in Omaha, Nebraska.  The conference, held March 15-17, brought about 1500 station owners, petroleum marketers and consumers. 

“Most people that came by our booth either had E85 specific questions or wanted to just find out more about this unknown product,” said Christi Vander Voort, Iowa’s E85 Coordinator for the NEVC.  “The most asked questions from the average consumer involved in the petroleum industry (clerk, station manager, office manager) were, ‘What is E85?’ and 'Why can’t we get E85 in my area?’”

An E85 Taurus and Explorer were displayed in the NEVC booth.  Vander Voort added, “Attending the Expo was a great awareness tool, not only exposing people to E85, but helping people identify flexible-fuel vehicles.  The two FFVs also showed proof through their window sticker that the cars that burn E85 are affordable, on the road, and at local dealerships.”

 

 

New E85 Location in Smithville, Missouri

 

Missouri now has a seventh E85 location -- in Smithville.  The Cenex-Ampride, owned by United Cooperatives, is located at 1102 South Highway 169.  They held their grand opening celebration on March 19.    

"United Cooperatives is excited to make E85 available to Kansas City Northland drivers at our Cenex-Ampride location in Smithville,” says Gene Millard, United Cooperatives Board Chairman and farmer from St. Joseph, Missouri. 

A press conference opened the celebration at 10 a.m. and fueling with the renewable product began soon after.  Over 300 gallons of E85 was sold during the promotion.

The Cenex-Ampride also offers the pay-at-the pump option for the clean-burning fuel.  Other fuels for sale are diesel, E10, and regular unleaded.  The station is open seven days a week with various hours.

Other stations in Missouri include two in Jefferson City and Columbia, and one site in both Kansas City and St. Louis.  For addresses of these locations, visit the NEVC website at www.e85fuel.com.


From left to right: MO State Rep.
Doug Ervin,  MO State Rep. Jim
Guest, United Cooperatives
General Manager Trent Sprecker,
& MCGA President Sam Creed (farmer from Fairfax, MO). 

 

New E85 Station in Oakes, ND

 

The Farmland Cooperative Ampride at 617 Main Avenue in Oakes, North Dakota, is now selling the renewable fuel – E85.  The 6,000 gallon E85 tank is the fifth in the state. 

“I hope it catches on pretty quickly,” said Steve Ketterling, manager of the station.  “We are now selling the product 39 cents cheaper than regular unleaded.” 

The location also sells unleaded, diesel, propane, and kerosene.   Station amenities include a pay-at-the pump option, a tire and a convenience store.  Hours are from 5 a.m. until 11 p.m, seven days a week. 

An E85 grand opening celebration is planned for April 2, 2004.  The event will include a live radio remote and E85 will sell for 85 cents much of the day.  The NDCGA Board of Directors will fill-up the customers’ tanks and wash windows. 

The E85 tank and pump in Oakes was made possible through the North Dakota Corn Grower Association and the NEVC.   

Other E85 fueling sites within the state include those in Bismarck, Devils Lake, Fargo and West Fargo.  For a complete listing of E85 stations, visit www.e85fuel.com.

VeraSun Ethanol Plant Grand Opening

Phil Lampert of the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition was one of more than 800 persons that recently attended the Grand Opening of the newest ethanol plant and the largest dry mill plant in the nation.  The VeraSun 100 million GPY facility, located just east of Brookings, South Dakota celebrated its opening and public roll out on March 13, 2004. 

 

Don Endres, President and CEO of VeraSun, welcomed South Dakota Governor Mike Rounds, former Congressman John Thune, and a long list of dignitaries to the reception held at the Swiftel Center in Brookings. 

 

“The National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition is proud to have VeraSun as a member and also as a recent addition to our Board of Directors,” commented Phil Lampert.  “VeraSun is an example of what is right about the ethanol industry.  Putting up a state of the art dry mill facility with 100 million gallons annual production capacity, represents the leadership, foresight, and wisdom of the entire VeraSun team.”

 

Ten new E85 vehicles, including the American Lung Association of MN E85 Taurus (seen above) and the Monsanto/NEVC/GM Processor Preferred Silverado (seen right) were displayed at the event.
 

TVA's Robert Harris Receives Wheeler McMillen Award

Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) Robert Harris has received the Wheeler McMillan Award for his leadership in supporting the development and use of biomass for bioenergy and other renewable energy sources.

The New Uses Council, a national organization promoting development of renewable energy and new uses for biomass products, presented the award to Harris at a conference in Las Vegas.

Bioenergy is energy derived from organic materials known as biomass. Power plants that produce bioenergy use wood or other biomass material as a heat source to generate electricity. Biomass can also be used to produce fuels for vehicles. Because biomass is based on vegetation that can be regrown, bioenergy is a renewable energy source.

The award recognizes today’s leaders who build on the pioneering work of Wheeler McMillan, who founded the Farm Chemurgic Council in 1935 with Henry Ford, Thomas Edison and Nobel Prize physicist Robert Milliken to expand the market for agricultural products.

"We are proud of Bob’s involvement and contributions in the development of renewable energy sources," said TVA Executive Vice President River System Operations and Environment Kate Jackson.  "As a long-time proponent of biomass, his work helps others understand the role it can have in the energy industry."

Harris has worked for TVA in Muscle Shoals for three years and is program manager for Renewable Projects. He has been a New Uses Council board member for eight years and was chairman of the council in 1997 and 1998.

The McMillan award honors those who are helping speed the transition to an economy based on non-polluting renewable resources, said New Uses Council Chairman Bill Holmberg. Bob continues to be a leader among his peers dedicated to the growth of the use of biomass for the production of renewable energy.

Holmberg says the New Uses Council is committed to expanding the development and commercialization of new industrial, energy, and non-food consumer uses of renewable agricultural, forestry, marine and livestock products.

TVA is the nation’s largest public power provider and is completely self-financed. TVA provides power to large industries and 158 power distributors that serve approximately 8.5 million consumers in seven southeastern states.

Bob Harris is a long time friend of the use of renewable transportation fuels and was one of the founding members of the Governors’ Ethanol Coalition.  The NEVC wishes to congratulate Bob on this award and reiterate our gratitude for his continuing efforts.
 

Ethanol and Energy

Dan Walters thinks ethanol gets a bad wrap energywise and he's got numbers to prove it.  Grain-based ethanol is a cleaner-burning, renewable alternative to fossil fuels. But critics cite studies showing ethanol production uses more energy than it produces.

"The problem is that's all old data," said Walters, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln soil scientist. Such studies are based on figures from the late 1980s and early 1990s, yet much has changed in agriculture and ethanol production in the past decade.

"If you're making public policy, we need modern data that reflects the energy efficiencies of current or future farming and ethanol processing," he said.

To calculate a modern energy balance for ethanol, Walters gathered and assessed current information on all the fossil fuel needed to grow and transport corn and to convert it to ethanol, blend it with gasoline and get it to the pump.

Today's ethanol has a positive energy balance, he found. It provides more energy than is used to produce it. Walters calculated the energy output to energy input ratio for converting irrigated corn to ethanol is 1.3-to-1 and 1.4-to-1 for dryland corn.

"We're about 30 percent ahead" energywise, the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources scientist said.

Advances in ethanol conversion and plant efficiency are part of the equation, he said. In 2002, a bushel of corn produced 2.7 gallons of ethanol, up from 2.5 gallons in 1990. Ethanol byproducts such as livestock feeds enhance efficiency because energy would be needed to produce these products if they weren't made during ethanol conversion.

On the crop production side, nitrogen is the largest energy factor, accounting for 30 percent to 50 percent of all energy needed to raise corn, Walters said. Nitrogen efficiency has improved immensely over the past 20 years, and continues improving by an average .013 bushels of grain per pound of nitrogen annually.

Improvements in seed genetics, water use, crop management and production equipment also help boost efficiency.

"These efficiencies rely on normal best management practices and judicious nitrogen use to optimize, not maximize, productivity," he said. Much of Walters' production data comes from 160-acre fields in the university's ongoing carbon sequestration research, but he said national averages are similar.

"I'm confident we're still in positive energy balance," he said.  “Irrigation requires extra energy but compensates by boosting yields and nitrogen efficiency,” Walters said.

"That bodes very well for Nebraska," he said, where irrigation is widely used and 23 percent of the corn crop is sold for ethanol. "We can compete with rainfed corn growing states for ethanol production."

Walters calculated the ethanol energy balance while working on broader energy use and carbon assessments for the carbon sequestration project. More than half of corn's carbon is in grain, but scientists don't factor it in long-term carbon storage because grain's carbon recycles back to the atmosphere as feed or food in a year or so.

But converting grain to ethanol helps offset carbon emissions from fossil fuels, Walters said.

Typically, 10 percent ethanol is blended with conventional unleaded gasoline to produce E-10 Unleaded.

"When we put gasoline in our car, we're using carbon that has been stored for millions of years," Walters explained. "When we put E-10 in the tank, carbon dioxide emissions are 10 percent less than someone who burns straight fossil fuel because ethanol is a biofuel. It's made with carbon from the atmosphere that's recycled through the corn plant." 

He predicts ethanol's energy equation will continue improving along with farming and processing efficiencies.

"That picture gets better and better."

A U.S. Department of Energy grant helps fund NU's carbon sequestration research.

To read a case study on the Allocation Procedure in Ethanol Production System from Corn Grain, click here.
 

 Letters to the NEVC

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.

  

 

Can I use it?
 

Hi,
 

I am all excited about E85 and was hoping I would be able to use it. I have a Toyota Camery 1998.  Do you think I would be able to use this fuel? I now use the 10% ethanol in gasoline. I sure hope I will be able to use this fuel.  It will be so good to be able to help our own people hear in the us. Our farmers need this. 
 

Thank you,
Jeanie

 

. . .
 

Jeanie,

 

Unfortunately, your Toyota will not be able to burn the fuel.  There is a complete listing of E85 compatible vehicles at www.E85fuel.com.

 

-Michelle Kautz

This email was sent to the NEVC Board of Directors and members from NEVC Executive Director, Phil Lampert.


E85 in NC

Board and Members:

Please see http://www.wral.com/NEWS/2906263/DETAIL.HTMLhttp://www.wral.com/news/2906263/detail.html.  Here is an interesting article regarding the purchase of 1,000 new E85 vehicles by the state of North Carolina.  The article does a good job of outlining the synergy between flexible fuel vehicles, E10 and E85.  As the NEVC assists the state of North Carolina with the installation of new E85 fueling stations, the state has committed to the use of E10 in these same vehicles.  This is the state of North Carolina's first use of any form of ethanol and would likely not have occurred without the FFVs.  The next step is the use of E85 and the NEVC is providing financial support to accomplish that goal.

I hope you find this as enlightening as we did.

Phillip J. Lampert
Executive Director

. . .

Hi Phil, Board and Members:

 

Thanks for forwarding the article. I would like to correct one point though, the State of North Carolina's Dept of Administration Motor Fleet Management, has been using E85 for several years. They have 2 state run refueling locations in the Raleigh area and in 2003 used 282,000 gallons of E85 ,an increase of 90,000 gallons over 2002. This commitment to supporting the use of ethanol then led MFM to initiate a purchasing contract for E10 in October 2003. In the first few months over 175,000 gallons of E10 had been used in state motor vehicles.

 

The NEVC is assisting us with opening North Carolina's first retail E85 pump for the thousands of FFVs  operated by the motoring public. We are still working on an optimum location for this station...Meanwhile I just wanted to clarify that the State is leading by example with the use of E85 in FFVs and E10 in all vehicles.

 

Thanks!
Anne Tazewell
Clean Cities Coordinator
Triangle J. Council of Governments

 

Good Job!

 

Congratulations on your new Smithville, MO E85 location!

 

From all of us at the Biobased Manufacturers Association, 

Kim C. Kristoff

Chairman

Thanks for the emails to the NEVC!  Feel free to email us with your comments at anytime.

NEVC Calendar

 

April 2, 2004
National Alternative Fuel Vehicle Day Odyssey.  For more information, visit http://www.afvday.org/

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.