When the hurricane hit Louisiana, President Bush promised a cheaper fuel called E-85. Where is it?

Question

I live in Nebo, N.C. and to date there are no gas pumps within 100 miles that have either the E-85 or the bio-diesel. I know that it is available because the state has been useing it for 2 years now. A truck stop in Asheville tried to open up with the bio-diesel and was find by local EPA so much that they were forced out of buisness. I say we are being forced by the oil tycoons and the government to pay higher gas prices by the government preventing the selling of the cheeper, cleaner burning, and more renewable source. Is there anything that we can do? How do we get the president to honor his word to the people of America?

Answer 1

When do we get you to be honorable, and not take things out of context?

The Pres isn't the one calling the shots, the CONSUMER (meaning YOU) is.  Demand for oils has set its price - on a GLOBAL market, not just local.  The Pres has kept his promise and has been working with agencies and corporations to develop cleaner burning fuel.

Answer 2

The reason you're not seeing much E85 in your state is because the station owners are reluctant to undertake the cost of either installing and piping a new tank or converting one of their existing tanks from gasoline to E85 usage.  The cost of a new tank, piping and pumps is likely to be 30K while a conversion won't be much cheaper, about 25K.

E85 is a difficult fuel to store, as the 85% ethanol has a bad habit of pulling moisture out of the air, which fouls the fuel.  Transporting ethanol is also problematic, as it can't be pipelined in existing pipes and building new lines could take years, even if permission is granted, which is always iffy as well.  This leaves discrete containers such as railcars, tanker trucks and barges to move it in batches to your local terminal.

Once the fuel finally arrives at your station, there have to be customers to buy it.  No station owners want to sit on thousands of dollars worth of inventory for months on end.  That money tied up in E85 can be working elsewhere, either in gasoline and diesel, or in the store, as cigarettes, coffee, and other convenience sales.

The midwest has the vast majority of E85 stations because these states have a vested interest in seeing ethanol as a motor fuel.  Every gallon of grain sourced ethanol sold means dollars for that state and they have issued tax incentives which make it less costly for stations to install and maintain E85 for the public.  There's also reduced cost, since most ethanol comes out the heartland.  Driving it 200 miles costs less than driving it 1500 miles.

You are not being forced by the "oil tycoons" or the gov't to pay more for anything.  You can't run E85 in a conventional engine, you need a flex fuel engine.  E85 is less efficent than gasoline, so you get worse mileage, typically a 15-20% penalty.  This means with gasoline at $3/gallon, E85 needs to be under $2.50/gallon to be equivalent in cost.  (3 x .85 = 2.55).  I'm not aware of how much E85 is costing these days, but I doubt it's below $2.50.

Additionally, you either have to buy a flex fuel vehicle, which is more expensive than its standard gasoline version, or have a conversion done on your existing vehicle, which runs about $1500, from what I've read.  This hits you directly in the pocket and it takes a discipined person to pay up front for what may or may not prove to be a viable fuel option.  My personal opinion of ethanol is that it willbe forced down our throats because of the capital already thrown at it, but ulitmately, we will find better fuel sources and it will die the death it should.  Ethanol currently cannibalizes our food source, costs more to produce than gasoline and has a similar carbon footprint.  Hydrogen cell reserach has much greater promise and hydrogen is the most common element in the universe, with no carbon footprint.

President Bush can promise all he wants to promote E85 and alternate ethanol sources like switchgrass, but until we the public start demanding the product, business won't buy into the concept.  I believe he has kept his end of the bargain, incidentally.  The ethanol refining industry has grown exponentially in size, thanks to tax incentives.  

As for biodiesel, keep your eyes open, it's becoming more available each month.  My company is selling it in select locations and it's a much easier conversion than E85, actually, it's just a matter of running down the diesel tanks and filling up with the bio product, since they can be commingled.

Answer 3

E-85 is not popular yet because so few vehicles can actually use it...yet. In addition, it actually takes more oil to produce it than it does to refine gasoline. These are both problems that will be remedied soon I'm sure.

Once it does become popular, the price of gas may go down some, but the price of corn (the source of E-85) will go through the roof. That will make all food prices go up. So pay for it now in gas or pay for it later through higher corn and corn syrup prices later. It all evens out. Personally, I would prefer to give my money to a Nebraska corn farmer than an Arab Kingdom.

Answer 4

There are 13 in your state and 1,379 E85 refueling stations in the country as of November 2007.

Most are located in the midwest.

Follow the link below for more information about E85 and where it can be purchased.

Answer 5

up his ***

Answer 6

You can do it yourself!  Waiting for the government to do it is a total waste of time.

You absolutely can brew your own biodiesel from waste veggie oil from restaurants.  You can also modify a diesel car to run on virgin vegetable oil from CostCo.  

I hope it won't offend you if I refer you to environmentalist web sites for the technical how-to...  

http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html

Remember to pay your road tax!  That's the #1 place people get into trouble with biodiesel.  Also I suggest getting friendly with the local cops so they know you're making biodiesel and not meth.

E85 is a lie anyway.  It's not cheaper.  (well it is, but then it gets worse fuel economy so it ends up being more per mile.)  It's also bad for the environment, is causing HazMat to be hauled by rail and truck, and only works in some cars. (yellow gas cap cars).  It's basically being done because of the corn-industry lobbyists (ADM, Monsanto etc.)

You can't make ethanol yourself - it's moonshine.  The licensing would drown you.