First Public E85 Station Opens in Florida
Jefferson City , MO – Governor Jeb Bush and Florida’s Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Colleen M. Castille announced today the opening of the first public E85 retail station in the state of Florida. The Inland Food Store at 3500 North Monroe in Tallahassee is the location of this first public E85 station in the Florida.
“Securing a diverse and reliable supply of energy will reduce Florida's dependence on imported oil and ensure that a balanced mix of fuel sources and technologies are available for years to come," said Governor Bush. "The tremendous potential of ethanol to become a major source of transportation fuel for Florida's energy future will be spurred with greater public access to ethanol fuelling stations."
In June of this year, the state of Florida modified regulations that had up until that time prohibited the sale of clean burning E85 at the retail level. Along with support from staff of the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition (NEVC), Florida regulatory officials worked to overcome the barriers and allowed the product to be sold to the public (see the press release listed here). There are currently two Federally accessed E85 facilities in the state; a dispenser at Hurlburt Air Force Base and another at the Kennedy Space Center.
“This is a great day to see the first E85 station open to the public in Florida,” said Phil Lampert, Executive Director of the NEVC. “We are proud to see the efforts of so many in developing this station come to fruition. General Motors, the state of Florida, Inland, and others all worked hard to establish this site. It is particularly important given that Florida is a major consumer of motor fuels and contains the third highest population of FFVs in the nation.” The NEVC provided a grant to Inland and national E85 imaging materials.
“Inland is proud to offer the first retail E85 dispensers in the State of Florida,” said Mike Harrell, President and CEO, Inland Food Stores. “We are committed to making alternative fuel choices like E85 easily available to the public and we are excited to be teaming up with Governor Bush, General Motors, and our supply partners to promote E85’s availability and to increase consumer awareness. We also wish to acknowledge the help of the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition in our endeavor.”
Inland Food Store in partnership with General Motors plan to open seventeen E85 pumps in the next eight months. This is part of GM’s Live Green Go Yellowcampaign that they began in January of this year.
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