Pro or Corn? Grants enable more E85 pumps in Calif., but is corn ethanol the answer?
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SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District SMAQMD) has completed the rollout of the largest concentration of E85 fueling locations west of the Mississippi. The infrastructure development was funded by a $3.5 million grant from the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and administered by the air district. Local fuel suppliers applied for grants to partially fund the installation. This partnership has enabled installation of 23 retail, four cardlock and two fleet stations.
"This project, overseen by the air district, makes Sacramento the new leader in alternative fuel availability, with the greatest number of E85 fueling locations west of the Mississippi," said SMAQMD board chair Sandy Sheedy.
"Sacramento has again stepped up to lead the effort to protect California's air," said CARB chair Mary D. Nichols. "This project sets the stage for encouraging greater use of ethanol in California, helping us reach our clean air goals."
Increased use of E85 lowers demand for oil and helps keep prices down; domestically produced fuel also reduces U.S. dependency on foreign oil and supports sustainable business in the region, CARB and SMAQMD said. And E85 can reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Air district officials estimated that there are about 23,000 vehicles in the Sacramento region that can use E85.
Many owners don't even know their vehicles are flex-fuel capable, Matt Horton of Propel, a Sacramento-based alternative fuels company providing E85 fuel for stations in several cities including Rocklin, Citrus Heights and Elk Grove, told The Sacramento Bee.
The telltale sign of a flex-fuel vehicle is a bright-yellow gas cap. Some vehicles also have a flex-fuel insignia.
Officials said pricing will be key. Ethanol gets anywhere from 20% to 30% fewer less miles to the gallon than gasoline but is cheaper, said the report.
Critics have derided corn-based ethanol as a poor choice for government investment because it creates only marginally less carbon than regular gasoline production, the report said. Air quality officials, however, lauded the fuel Tuesday, while acknowledging its current limitations.
Nichols described E85 as a transitional fuel that will help get Californians used to the idea of trying alternative fuels.
CARB recently set rules requiring reduction of greenhouse gas emissions involved in the production, distribution and use of fuels.
Nichols said corn-based ethanol will either have to improve on its greenhouse gas emissions or give way to other fuels, including other ethanols. "We are not taking a pro- or anti-corn stance," she said. "Corn is what's out there now. It will change."
Chris Nobles of Nella Oil Co., which provides E85 fuel at two Valero stations , said ethanol likely will account for only a tiny percentage of sales, but represents a step forward in the marketplace. "We wouldn't have done this without the [state] grant," she told the newspaper, "but things are changing. We can't guarantee that gasoline will continue to be the main market source."
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"Sacramento has again stepped up to lead the effort to protect California's air," said CARB chair Mary D. Nichols. "This project sets the stage for encouraging greater use of ethanol in California, helping us reach our clean air goals."