First E85 Station to Open in Massachusetts

Dennis K. Burke will be the first entrepreneur to open an E85 fueling facility in the state of Massachusetts. Burke Oil at 410 Beacham St. in Chelsea, MA will open in a number of weeks. Burke pioneered biodiesel in the region and decided to go all green, adding E85 to his fueling options.

“Waivers and permits were new issues for state and local government agencies as well as for us,” said Andy Frongillo of Burke Oil. The lack of Underwriters Laboratories certification of a dispenser kept the site from opening much sooner.

The 1,000 gallon E85 tank dispenses fuel from one hose at the station, which is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Frongillo added, “Burke's gas station has the distinction of being the first in Massachusetts offering biodiesel at the pump. Burke supplies many of the area’s largest biodiesel and bioheat users. To keep pace with growing demand, the company recently opened a Biofuels Storage Facility in Holyoke, Massachusetts.”

Burke Oil is one of the newest members of the NEVC. They tentatively plan to hold a grand opening event on June 26.

Chrysler Offers to 'Refuel America'

- Source: Brandweek, May 6, 2008

Chrysler is allowing consumers to play the futures game with a new promotion that supplies buyers of some new models with a card which lowers their fuel cost to $2.99 a gallon for three years.

As part of the promotion, called "Let's Refuel America," car buyers can register for the card via a website or toll-free number. Once they receive the card, they'll be able to use it at any eligible gas station to get lower priced gas by entering a PIN number. The offer, which started Wednesday, applies to 87 octane unleaded, E85, or diesel fuel only.

Vehicles eligible for the program include the Dodge Caliber, Avenger and Charger; Chrysler Sebring, 300 and Town and Country; and Jeep Commander, Liberty and Compass. Among those not included are the Dodge Challenger and the Jeep Wrangler.

The promotion will be supported by a "wide media buy," said Deborah Meyer, Chrysler's vice president and CMO. Broadcast broke Wednesday on cable and network channels, and Thursday in national newspapers, such as USA Today and The New York Times. Web banners will also run with focus on gas price listing websites, such as Gasbuddy.com. BBDO out of Detroit, MI, handles the creative.

"We made sure the creative was very to the point," Meyer said. "We want people to understand how we're trying to help them. The whole campaign will be very message-oriented, very unified."

Meyer said the concept for the effort came after polling members of the brand's consumer advisory board, a group of volunteers which Chrysler has tapped to get input from actual car buyers. "Gas prices ranked highly when we polled them, and it was an element in this campaign. We wanted to address their concerns about these prices," she added.

Chrysler has fared the worst out of the Detroit Three automakers, which are seeing sales drop faster than their competition. Chrysler, with sales down 17.6 percent through April, per Autodata, Woodcliff Lake, NJ, this year introduced a number of large vehicles like the Dodge Ram pickup, at a time when consumers are embracing smaller cars. Other automakers are also preparing to deliver larger vehicles.

General Motors and Ford could follow in Chrysler's footsteps if the new program bears fruit, said Erich Merkle of consulting firm IRN Inc., of Grand Rapids, MI.

"Everyone has to start thinking of pretty creative ways to market vehicles when gas prices get this high," Merkle said. "This is a fairly radical plan and helps eliminate one of the reservations people are having when they think about buying a new car."

Chrysler is a member of the NEVC and also has a representative who serves on the NEVC Board of Directors.

Wisconsin Offers Funds for E85 Infrastructure

The Wisconsin Office of Energy Independence (OEI) is soliciting applications from interested fuel retailers to site E85 retail refueling outlets on or near the major interstate/highway routes and fleet users in Wisconsin. These fuel retailers will be awarded 50% of the cost of installation, up to $5,000 per site.

Currently, Wisconsin has 102 E85 fueling locations throughout the state; the third most facilities behind Minnesota and Illinois. To download an application for this solicitation, click here.

- Source: Grainnet.com, May 2, 2008

The Indiana State Department of Agriculture is now accepting applications for the E85 Fueling Station Grant Program.

Nearly $1 million in state money is available to assist in the installation of E85 pumps, and funds available have increased from a maximum of $5,000 to $20,000 per pump location.

Cities and towns are now eligible to apply, as well as commercial refueling facilities, counties and townships.

"As we travel around the state, we hear from many people who want E85 pumps in their communities," said Indiana Agriculture Director Andy Miller.

"Now that cities, towns and retailers are eligible to apply for this E85 grant, I encourage them to take advantage of the opportunity."

The E85 Fueling Station Grant Program is one of many bioenergy initiatives started under the leadership of Governor Mitch Daniels.

E85 pumps have increased from zero in 2005 to more than 100 pumps across the state today. Only flex-fuel vehicles can operate on E85, but all vehicles can run on up to a 10 percent blend of ethanol and gasoline.

"Central Indiana Clean Cities Alliance is supportive of the state's initiatives for bioenergy and has helped multiple fuel retailers obtain grants for biofuels infrastructure," said Kellie Walsh, Central Indiana Clean Cities Alliance executive director, who is a member of the NEVC.

"We welcome the opportunity to reach out to more communities."

In order to be eligible for funding, the grant application must be approved before the retailer begins work on the pump installation or conversion.

NCGA Rebuttal on Food and Fuel

An extreme debate has been forth going within the media and the ethanol industry lately regarding corn and fuel. The National Corn Growers Association (a member of the NEVC) has recently released a study on the impacts of the increased corn production on food supply and domestic fuel use. A copy of the study can be found by clicking here.

Big Profits First Quarter for Big Oil

According to a Lundberg survey, the average price of gasoline jumped 15 cents in the past two weeks, to a national average of $3.62 per gallon of self-serve regular unleaded. The price of a barrel of crude is nearing $125, which is nearly twice as much as just one year ago. Yet, so much criticism continues to be placed on ethanol at this time.

“We are hearing that the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) has embarked on a multi-million dollar campaign through a Washington, DC, public relations firm, to turn public opinion against corn-based ethanol,” according to Kansas Corn Growers Association Executive Director and NEVC Board Member Jere White. “Several credible studies released this year show high fuel prices have a much greater impact on food prices than higher corn prices.”

White said consumers are wondering why there has been little connection made between fuel prices and grocery prices.

“That’s where the story gets interesting. In addition to GMA, we are told the oil industry has chipped in millions to the campaign as well,” White said. “Consumers are paying higher prices at the pump and at the checkout. Then the oil companies and food companies are using that money to blame ethanol for higher food and fuel prices.”

BP released their first quarter 2008 profits recently and they’ve shown a 48 percent increase in profits from just one year ago (see link here). Exxon Mobil Corp., the world's largest publicly-traded oil company, said the “record crude prices helped its first-quarter profit climb 17 percent to $10.9 billion, the second-biggest U.S. quarterly corporate profit ever.”

Ethanol, the Ultimate Home Brew

- Source: International Herald Tribune, April 27, 2008

What if you could make fuel for your car in your backyard for less than you pay at the pump? Would you?

The first question has driven Floyd Butterfield for more than two decades. Butterfield, 52, is something of a legend for people who make their own ethanol. In 1982, he won a California Department of Food and Agriculture contest for best design of an ethanol still, albeit one which he could not market profitably at the time.

Now he thinks he can, thanks to his partnership with Silicon Valley entrepreneur Thomas Quinn. The two have started E-Fuel, which soon will announce its home ethanol system, the E-Fuel 100 MicroFueler. It will be about as large as a stackable washer-dryer, sell for $9,995 and ship before year-end.

The net cost to consumers could drop by half after government incentives for alternate fuels, like tax credits, are applied.

The MicroFueler will use sugar as its main fuel source, or feedstock, along with a specially–packaged, time-release yeast developed by the company. Depending on the cost of sugar, plus water and electricity, the company says it could cost as little as a dollar a gallon to make ethanol. In fact, Quinn sometimes collects leftover alcohol from bars and restaurants in Los Gatos, CA, where he lives, and turns it into ethanol; the only cost is for the electricity used in processing.

In general, he says, burning a gallon of ethanol made by his system will produce one-eighth the carbon of the same amount of gasoline.

"It's going to cause havoc in the market and cause great financial stress in the oil industry," Quinn boasts.

He may well turn out to be right. But brewing ethanol in the backyard isn't as easy as barbecuing hamburgers. Distilling large quantities of ethanol typically has required a lot of equipment, says Daniel Kammen, director of the Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley. In addition, he says quality control and efficiency of home brew usually pale compared with those of commercial refineries. "There's a lot of hurdles you have to overcome. It's entirely possible they've done it, but skepticism is a virtue," Kammen says.

Quinn, 53, has been involved with successful innovations before. For instance, he patented the motion sensor technology used in Nintendo's wildly popular Wii gaming system.

More to the point, he was the product marketing manager for Alan Shugart's pioneering hard disk drive when the personal computer was shifting from a hobbyists' niche to a major industry. "I remember people laughing at us and saying what a stupid idea it was to do that disk drive," Quinn says.

Butterfield thinks the MicroFueler is as much a game changer as the personal computer. He says working with Quinn's microelectronics experts — E-Fuel now employs 15 people — has led to breakthroughs which have cut the energy requirements of making ethanol in half. One such advance is a membrane distiller, which, Quinn says, uses extremely fine filters to separate water from alcohol at lower heat and in fewer steps than in conventional ethanol refining. Using sugar as a feedstock means there is virtually no smell, and its water byproduct will be drinkable.

E-Fuel has bold plans: It intends to operate internationally from the start, with production of the MicroFueler in China and Britain as well as the United States. And Butterfield is already at work on a version for commercial use, as well as systems which will use feedstocks other than sugar.

Ethanol has long had home brewers, and permits are available through the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau. (You must be a property owner and agree to make your ethanol outdoors.) But there are plenty of reasons to question whether personal fueling systems will become the fuel industry's version of the personal computer.

For starters, sugar-based ethanol doesn't look much cheaper than gas. It takes up to 14 pounds, or 6.5 kilograms, of sugar to make a gallon of ethanol, and raw sugar sells in the United States for about 20 cents a pound, says Michael Salassi, a professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics at Louisiana State University. But Quinn says that, as of January this year, under the North American Free Trade Agreement, he can buy inedible sugar from Mexico for as little as 2.5 cents a pound, which puts the math in his favor. While this type of sugar has not been sold to consumers, E-Fuel says it is developing a distribution network for it.

In addition, it's illegal in the United States to operate a car on 100 percent ethanol, with exceptions for off-road vehicles like Indy cars and farm equipment. Quinn has a U.S. permit to make his own fuel, and believes if MicroFuelers start popping up like swimming pools, regulators will adapt by certifying pure ethanol for cars.

Despite all the hurdles, Quinn and Butterfield may be on to something. There are plenty of consumers who want to reduce their carbon footprint and are willing to make an upfront investment to do it — consider the success of the Prius.

New NEVC Members

NEVC welcomes the newest corporate member to the coalition:

Byrne Dairy

NEVC Member Spotlight – Alabama State Motor Pool

Alabama State Motor Pool is now a member of the NEVC. The State Motor Pool is an agency with a fleet of approximately 200 vehicles, 150 of which are E85 compatible.

“We installed our first E85 pumps in June, 2007, and the response has been very good,” said Angie Head. The facility is located at 386 S. Ripley Street in Montgomery, AL.

The group joined the NEVC to stay abreast of the la test news regarding E85.

“[We feel] the greatest obstacle is money to put in more plants for the production of E85,” noted Head.

Thank you, Alabama State Motor Pool, for your dedication to E85, FFVs and the NEVC.

NEVC Member Spotlight – Bob Haskins Racing

Bob Haskins Racing (BHR) is one of the newest members of the NEVC. The group owns a 1966 E85-compatible Chevelle and 1988 Chevy dulley. They joined the Coalition to learn more about the domestically-grown product.

“I started BHR to comply with the IRS guide lines on running a racing business. I love drag racing. I run my 1988 Chevy dulley and my 1966 Chevelle on E85. I just have trouble finding it at a good price,” said Haskins. “I would like to stand by the people who stand up for our independence from foreign oil.”

Haskins feels education is key for people to understand the fuel. He also feels automakers and ethanol producers must work side by side for the advancement of E85.

“I feel educating all of the USA about E85 will need to come from all sides — people like me and organizations like the NEVC, along with information from ethanol manufacturers. People have to be able to read, not just hear about E85, and they need to feel confident in that making E85 will not keep them from having corn on the cob ever again. Read about how cellulose and other inputs for making E85 are becoming more viable and how it will not end here, but only when we stop thinking of new and better ways of making ethanol. The thinkers and doers will take the USA to the next level of oil independence and put us back on the road to better living.

I want to thank the American farmer, for stepping up to the plate with more output of all crops needed to keep America going, and the automakers, for working alongside ethanol producers and distributers, as well as the NEVC for all of it’s hard work and the American people, for it will take a team effort to get this job done. Together we can make gas the alternative fuel.

The future is ours. Don’t let it slip away for the lack of education, for if we think education is expensive, try ignorance. God bless America,” Haskins concluded.

Welcome, Bob Haskins Racing, to the NEVC!

Below is a list of fueling facilities which have installed E85 since the issuance of our last NEVC newsletter.

The following 10 facilities are or will soon be carrying the clean-burning, alternative—E85:

There are currently 1,563 E85 stations available across the United States. For a complete listing, go to www.E85Refueling.com.

To inform us of changes to our E85 site, please email info@e85fuel.com.

May 18-19, 2008
2008 Renewable Fuels Action Summit at the Bismarck State College Student Union in Bismarck, ND. Co-hosted by U.S. Senator Byron L. Dorgan, Governor John Hoeven, Kadrmas Lee & Jackson and Bismarck State College. For more information, go to http://www.bismarckstate.edu/energysummit/ .

June 2, 2008
2008 New Frontiers Conference: Propelling Montana Research Forward at the GranTree Hotel, Bozeman, MT. For more information, call Jamie Jutila at 406-586-6104.

June 9, 2008
One day is all it takes to learn everything you need to know about adding E85 to your business. Learn how to convert stations, secure product and profitably market E85 at OPIS’ 2nd Annual E85 Station Conversion Clinic on June 9, 2008 in Chicago , IL . With over 6.5 million E85 vehicles in the U.S. and counting, and only 1,400 fueling outlets to serve them, the opportunity to capitalize on this eco-friendly fuel is tremendous. Visit www.opisnet.com/E85 or call 866-620-5940 for details. Plus, save $100 when you register by Friday, May 16th!

July 20–22, 2008
18th Annual EPAC Conference at the Hilton Garden Inn in Kalispell, MT. For more information, go to http://www.ethanolmt.org/conferencelist.html.

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.