But it got me thinking about E85. It's not going to replace gasoline as our prime source of fuel, but think of this for a moment.. what if starting Monday everyone in the US who owned a flex fuel vehicle capable of using E85 actually fueled up with E85? There are roughly 6 million vehicles in the US capable or using E85 today. As of 2001 there were 191 million vehicles on the road in the US. That number is probably higher today.. but still..
The problem with this? Those 6 million people probably can't find a gas station that carries E85.
Currently out of the (roughly) one thousand gas stations in NC there are only eleven gas stations that carry E85.
Roughly two percent of the vehicles on the road are capable of burning a cleaner fuel and yet many states have ZERO gas stations that dispense it.
Lawmakers and the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition seem to think the solution is to get our government to pay for switching pumps over to E85.. check this out.. the state of North Carolina will give up to $30,000 in tax credits for a gas station to convert a pump to E85. So supply and demand are gone in this country? Our government, which is already grossly in debt, is going to pay a business so that the business can offer a product exclusively in an area (for a while). I guess the demand for E85 is unbelievably low. But why?
Maybe the reason demand is so low is because the stuff smells funny when it burns? Yep.. you drive down the road and the people behind you smell alcohol.
Or maybe it's because since there's little competition among stations selling it (since they're far apart) they don't have to discount it and so in some places it costs as much as regular gasoline. Or maybe it's because the stuff isn't nearly as efficient? Efficiency can drop 20% when running on E85.. and I pay as much for it as regular gasoline. Ouch.
Or maybe it's because the people who own flex fuel vehicles don't know that it's ok for them to fill up with E85 from a station and where to find the stuff?
Maybe the whole E85 thing just needs more cool marketing?
Anyway, my state gives a tax credit to owners of hybrid vehicles, so I'm trying to find out if they also give a credit to owners of flex fuel vehicles. All of those stainless steel fittings in my truck didn't come cheap you know
btw.. the best alternative isn't a different fuel. It's people driving cars and trucks less and using public transportation, bicycles, and their feet more often.
04 Jun 2007 at 02:17 pm | #
It's obviously a battle of interests here. Isn't it obvious that a war has been stated over fuel? How can you expect them to make something in favor if an alternative fuel, when they are struggling to get as much as possible from the old one.