DOE Selects CA Team to Jumpstart E85 Ethanol Fueling Network
DETROIT (Nov. 3, 2006) — The federal Department of Energy (DOE) announced that it has selected a strong collaborative team comprised of CALSTART, General Motors, Pacific Ethanol, CleanFUEL USA, Community Environmental Council and others to receive grant funding to jump start a major new alternative fuel network in the state. The grant would provide partial funding to build 15 publicly accessible E85 ethanol stations in California.
E85 ethanol is largely a renewable and domestic fuel. It consists of 85 percent ethanol and only 15 percent gasoline. However, there is currently only one public station that sells E85 ethanol (85% ethanol and 15% gasoline) in California, despite the fact the state has more than 300,000 flex-fuel cars capable of running on the fuel. This project will create the fundamental building blocks of an E85 refueling network and provide new fueling choices for the owners of those cars.
The California proposal scored high in a national competition largely as a result of the strength of the team. Among those on the full team are CALSTART, General Motors, CleanFuel USA, Pacific Ethanol, United Oil Company, Community Environmental Council, City of Tulare, the California Energy Commission, the California State Automobile Association, the South Coast Air Quality Management District, the San Joaquin Valley Clean Cities Coalition, and the Southern California Regional Clean Cities Coalition.
“I’m very pleased that the DOE has made this award to this very strong and impressive team from California” said Jim Boyd, Vice Chairman of the California Energy Commission. “Working together, we can build upon this initial DOE grant and will construct a major E85 network in California,” said Boyd.
With this initial round of funding, ten E85 will be constructed at existing gas stations owned by United Oil in the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area. With four pumps going to stations along the highway 101 route from Ventura to San Luis Obispo County, motorists will be able to conveniently refill in that region. A final E85 pump will be installed in the San Joaquin Valley alongside Highway 99 in Tulare.
