Tag: blend

E-85: The Loneliest Pump

  • This E85 pump is one of two publicly available in the city of Chicago - a city of nearly three million people and dozens of dealerships that sell E-85 compatible cars. The federal government provided incentives to manufacture E85- compatible vehicles, but the fuel infrastructure hasn't kept up. (Photo by Shawn Allee)

If you’ve kicked the tires around
a new car lot recently, your dealer may
have told you about “flex fuel” cars. These
Flex Fuel Vehicles run on gas or they can
burn “E85” – a mix of ethanol and gasoline.
Congress promoted Flex Fuel Vehicles to cut
oil imports, but Shawn Allee reports
on why it really hasn’t helped:

Transcript

If you’ve kicked the tires around
a new car lot recently, your dealer may
have told you about “flex fuel” cars. These
Flex Fuel Vehicles run on gas or they can
burn “E85” – a mix of ethanol and gasoline.
Congress promoted Flex Fuel Vehicles to cut
oil imports, but Shawn Allee reports
on why it really hasn’t helped:

I’m in my car across the street from a gas station. It’s raining right now. Keeping my
distance.

I’ve been watching a pump that dispenses that E85 blend – it’s the stuff with 85% ethanol.

Anyway, this is a very lonely gas pump. I’ve been here for something like an hour and
half and no one’s filled up on E85.

So, I’m gonna head in and talk to a manager to see whether this is normal.

(sound of bell)

Allee: “What’s your name sir?”

McLemen: “Greg McLemen.”

Allee: “How often do you see people fill up on E85?”

McLemen: “It depends on the location. Mostly people just don’t know what it is. They
see a little pump over there that says E85. A lot of vehicles take it, and they don’t even
know it.”

McLemen pulls out a flier that shows which vehicles can use E85.

He says lots of these models pull in, but often pass up his E85 pump.

(sound of crinkling)

McLemen: “You can see most of them are General Motors.”

Allee: “A lot of General Motors – Tahoe, Avalanche, Uplanders.”

McLemen: “We always recommend they go online or check the owner’s manual.”

But there’s something most Flex-Fuel owners manuals don’t tell you.

Nationwide, only about 1% of stations have an E85 pump.

E85 is supposed to cut gasoline use.

So it begs the questions: If there’s not much E85 around, why can so many Flex Fuel cars
use it?

“Currently, auto companies receive a fuel economy credit for producing a flex-fuel
vehicle.”

Environmentalist Roland Hwang tracks car policy for the Natural Resources Defense
Council.

He says the Flex Fuel incentives infuriate him – because they’ve made us waste gasoline,
not save it.

“Just very roughly speaking, like a twenty per mile gallon car might be treated like a
forty mile per gallon, almost like a hybrid-level of efficiency, under these fuel economy
credits. Thereby allowing the auto companies actually to build a less-efficient vehicle
fleet than they would have had to build.”

You don’t have to take Hwang’s word for it – energy analysts in the government agree the
incentives have wasted gasoline.

But some of these analysts say there is a bright side to the Flex Fuel vehicle incentives.

One is Paul Leiby of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Leiby: “The important side of effect Flexible Fuel incentives is that we actually can begin
to achieve energy security with the enhanced capability to use alternative fuels even if
we’re not yet using them.”

Allee: “You mean the flex fuel vehicle program wastes some gas, but having flex fuel
vehicles around is like an insurance policy, for an oil shock or something?”

Leiby: “That’s exactly right. If we have to do something very fast, within one to three
years, we already have some vehicles on the road, that can quickly switch to ethanol.”

Leiby says Congress really believed this “insurance policy” idea, so it let Flex Fuel
vehicle incentives for automakers go on for more than a decade – even while we were
just spinning our wheels when it came to actually saving gas.

But now, the game could be changing.

Congress is phasing out Flex Fuel credits for the car makers.

And, there’s talk about making all cars flex fuel.

It’s a move Detroit doesn’t want to make. Because then they’ll have to actually have to
meet the government’s requirements of a more fuel efficient fleet.

For The Environment Report, I’m Shawn Allee.

Related Links

Flex-Fuel Cars Often Burn Gas

  • The seven million or so Flex Fuel Vehicles are just a small portion of the 200-million or so vehicles in the American fleet, but there could many, more in the future. (Photo by Shawn Allee)

For most drivers, filling up at the
pump’s a pretty easy operation – you drive
up, you fill up, and you drive out. But people
who have Flex Fuel Vehicles have another choice.
They can fill up on gas or E-85, that 85 percent
ethanol blend – if they find the right station.
Shawn Allee reports a lot more of us
could have to make that same choice in the future:

Transcript

For most drivers, filling up at the
pump’s a pretty easy operation – you drive
up, you fill up, and you drive out. But people
who have Flex Fuel Vehicles have another choice.
They can fill up on gas or E-85, that 85 percent
ethanol blend – if they find the right station.
Shawn Allee reports a lot more of us
could have to make that same choice in the future:

I’m at a car lot in my home town. I’m not actually in the car market, but I am
curious what these E85 compatible Flex Fuel vehicles look like. I don’t own one
myself.

Anyway, I’m here with Edgar Moreno. He sells cars on this lot. He’s gonna show
me one of these vehicles here.

Allee: “Edgar, what can you show me?”

Moreno: “The Chevy Impala.”

Allee: “I actually don’t see anything that would tell me it’s a Flex-fuel vehicle.”

Moreno: “Usually it says on the gas cap whether you can use E85 or not.”

(sound of twist)

Allee: “It’s bright yellow. It says E85. In fact it says E85-slash-gasoline. What does
that mean?”

Moreno: “You can fill it with either, or.”

Allee: “How many stations are there available where I could fill this Impala up with
E85?”

Moreno: “I think there’s one in the area, but you have to drive quite a bit to get
there.”

Allee: “So, it’s one of those situations where, if I take this Impala off the lot, I could
still use it at a regular gas station, but I might have to search around for an E85
station?”

Moreno: “Yes, you do. Yep.”

Congress and both presidential candidates are considering making every car a Flex
Fuel Vehicle.

Detroit has spent a lot of money promoting E85 vehicles, and you might think they’d
be in favor of this.

Well, I called Ford Motor Company about this and found out that’s not the case.

“You could mandate every vehicle on the road to be a flex fuel vehicle. It would be a
great cost to our industry.”

Curt Magleby is Ford’s point-man on ethanol regulations.

He says if Congress gets its way there’d be more Flex Fuel Vehicles, but not necessarily
more E85 pumps.

“So you can mandate the vehicle side, but unless there’s a real focus on distribution,
it’s wasted money – we’d be putting dollars on the hoods of our vehicles for no
reason.”

So, Ford and the other car makers could make less profit on Flex Fuel Vehicles if there’s
a mandate.

At one time, they got government incentives to build Flex Fuel Vehicles, but those will
phase out.

So there’d be no benefit for the automakers.

And there’s another twist in the E-85 story.

The fuel industry is pushing to distribute ethanol in a way that might not require flex fuel
cars at all.

This is a little technical, but most gas already has 10% ethanol in it.

The fuel industry wants to sell 20% or even 30% ethanol blends because it saves oil
companies money. The government subsidized ethanol is cheaper than refining oil for
gasoline.

Ford and other car-makers are fighting this.

Magleby says burning E-20 or E-30 blends would be a disaster for existing cars.

“Ethanol is corrosive and it burns hotter, so you have to have a different fuel tank.
You have to have stainless steel fuel lines. You have to have hardened valves in your
engine.”

Car companies say burning 20% or 30% ethanol blends could hurt existing cars.

Scientists are checking whether that’s the case.

In the meantime, Congress is deciding exactly how it will promote ethanol.

It could mandate all cars be E85 Flex Fuel vehicles or it could promote lower-level
ethanol blends in gasoline.

Either way, over the next few years, we’re going to see big changes in our cars or our gas
pumps.

For The Environment Report, I’m Shawn Allee.

Related Links

Governors Push for More E-85 at the Pump

Some governors want a high-ethanol blend of gasoline called E-85 to be more easily available to customers. That’s touched off a dispute with the oil industry. The GLRC’s Chuck Quirmbach reports:

Transcript

Some governors want a high-ethanol blend of gasoline called E-85 to be
more easily available to customers. That’s touched off a dispute with the
oil industry. The GLRC’s Chuck Quirmbach reports:


E-85 is 85 percent ethanol made from corn and 15 percent gasoline.
Because of tax subsidies, its pump price is much lower than gas, but only
certain vehicles can burn the fuel. The number of gas stations that offer
E-85 is small.


Some politicians from corn-growing states want more E-85 pumps – right
next to where traditional gasoline is available, but petroleum industry
spokesperson Erin Roth contends some consumers might put E-85 in the
wrong type of vehicle. He also says many stations can’t add another
underground storage tank.


“Or they’re gonna have to get rid of say mid-grade or premium and put in
E-85 and there’s just not the demand for it right now.”


But if gasoline continues to sell for around three dollars a gallon, ethanol
producers and their political allies say the public will push for more
alternatives.


For the GLRC, I’m Chuck Quirmbach.

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Epa Proposing New Rules for Sewage Plants

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is proposing new rules on how sewage treatment plants clean water after heavy storms. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Shawn Allee reports:

Transcript

The US Environmental Protection Agency is proposing new rules on
how sewage treatment plants clean water after heavy storms. The Great
Lakes Radio Consortium’s Shawn Allee reports:


When rainstorms overwhelm sewage treatment plants, cities sometimes
blend raw sewage with clean water that can contaminate local rivers and
lakes with bacteria. To stop this, the EPA’s proposing a compromise
with local governments. Cities may blend waste when there’s no
alternative, but they must improve their waste treatment systems.


Alexandra Dapolito Dunn represents an alliance of city treatment
facilities. She says local governments need this flexibility.


“There are going to be some communities around the country where, due
to the low income and the distressed nature of an urban population, they
may have a difficult time affording the most cutting edge technologies
available.”


It’s not clear how much money cities will save under the proposed
guidelines. Upgrades can cost millions of dollars, and right now,
treatment centers compete for limited federal assistance.


For the GLRC, I’m Shawn Allee.

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Energy Bill Seeks to Simplify Fuel Supply

  • Some say that the use of air-friendly gas blends causes prices to increase. (Photo by Pam Roth)

The new energy legislation passed by Congress
includes an item that supporters claim will ease spikes in gasoline prices. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Chuck Quirmbach reports:

Transcript

The new energy legislation signed by the President includes an item that supporters claim will ease spikes in gasoline prices. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Chuck Quirmbach reports:


Critics claim the system of using special gasoline blends to reduce air
pollution has led to sizable price hikes when production problems reduce
supplies of the so-called boutique fuels.


The energy legislation would allow the temporary lifting of cleaner fuel mandates during supply disruptions. The EPA would also limit the number of boutique fuels and look for ways to
make the blends more widely available.


Wisconsin Republican House Member Paul Ryan says the new plan will bring stability.


“So we can standardize our gasoline blends, maintain our clean air standards, but stabilize the supply of gasoline.”


Ryan admits it may take several years for motorists to see any savings. Democrats worried about air pollution and oil companies concerned about additional regulations have traditionally blocked changes in the fuel supply system, but with gas prices around two fifty a gallon, the federal
government is taking action.


For the GLRC, I’m Chuck Quirmbach.

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Harvesting the Wind (Part 1)

  • Wind turbines can be both a blessing for farmers, as a source of extra income... and annoying to the neighbors. (Photo by Lester Graham)

Wind farms of huge turbines are springing up along coastlines,
windy ridges and blustery farmland. Most of us see them from a distance.
The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Chris Lehman recently visited some
of them up close… and has the first of two reports on wind energy:

Transcript

Wind farms of huge turbines are springing up along coast lines, windy ridges and
blustery
farmland. Most of us see them from a distance. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s
Chris
Lehman recently visited some of them up close… and has the first of two reports on
wind energy…


If you can imagine the sight… there are 63 wind turbines scattered across the
prairie farmland,
their huge blades sweeping around, capturing energy from the wind. Each turbine is
213 feet
high. You can see them from miles around. But it isn’t until you stand directly
underneath the
80-foot long blades as they rotate in the wind that you begin to appreciate their size…


(sound of wind from underneath turbine)


“This is probably a typical day. They’re probably producing at about 30 percent of
what they are
rated at, and probably on average, for a year, this is what you’d expect.”


Christopher Moore is Director of Development for Navitas Energy. The Minnesota- based
company opened the Mendota Hills Wind Farm in northern Illinois just over a year ago.


Q: “What are some of the highest levels that you’ve reached?”


“Each turbine is capable of producing 800 kw, and there are times when we’ve had the
windfarm
working at about maximum.”


Moore says the Mendota Hills Wind Farm produces enough electricity to power about 15-
thousand homes per year. It’s the first wind farm in the state of Illinois.


Brian Lammers is a Project Manager for Navitas Energy. He says the location is
ideal since it’s
windy here nearly all year long…


“The wind here is more robust in the fall, winter and spring. So we have more
production during
those months than we do during June, July, August.”


Unfortunately, the summer months are the months that most often experience peak
demand for
electricity. Because of that, and because it takes so many windmills to generate
lower amounts of
power, it’s unlikely that current wind energy will completely replace fossil fuel
generated power.


(sound of turbines)


On the flat prairies of Illinois, the giant turbines are the tallest structures for
miles around. You
begin to wonder about things like lightning strikes…


“We might have experienced one or two last year. The turbines are protected from
lightning. The
entire wind farm is grounded, so if there is a strike typically it will just be
grounded down to the
ground grid. There’s typically no long-term damage associated with a lightning
strike. But as you
can imagine, they’re the tallest structures around so there are periodic lightning
strikes.”


Q “What about a tornado? This is tornado country…what would happen if one came
through
here?”


“I don’t know. These turbines are built to withstand everything but a direct strike
from a tornado,
so I think the same thing would happen to a wind turbine that would happen to any
large
structure if they were struck by a tornado. You’d probably have some significant
damage.”


(fade up sound inside turbine)


Inside the turbine, there’s a distinct hum as the blades whirl away at the top of
the hollow shaft.
It’s about ten feet across at the base, and a metal ladder allows anyone brave
enough to climb all
the way to the top.


Despite the hum of the turbine’s blades up close, the sound fades away just a few
dozen feet from
the tower. But noise isn’t much of a concern for this wind farm. It’s in the
middle of a soybean
field and there are no neighbors nearby.


Noise is just one of the aesthetic concerns for neighbors of wind farms. Appearance
is another.
The Mendota Hills turbines are coated with a special paint that appears white in
bright sunshine.
But when the sun’s not out, the turbines appear grey, and seem to blend in with the
cloud-covered
sky.


Dennis Cradduck has 19 of the turbines on his corn and soybean farm. He says the
wind farm
hasn’t been a problem. Of course, he’s getting paid by Navitas for allowing the
turbines on his
land. But he says the wind farm has led to an unexpected benefit: getting to meet
people from
across the country who pull off the highway for a closer look…


“We get people almost on a daily basis that drive by on the interstate and see them,
and stop and
want to look at them, and they’re amazed at them, and most—about 99 percent of them
have been
positive comments. In fact, one fellow from North Carolina stopped the other day
and said ‘I wish
we’d build more of these around the country because we need renewable energy.'”


The prospect of more renewable energy is appealing to most environmentalists. But
some worry
that wind farms can be deadly to birds. A study by the National Wind Coordinating
Committee
found that wind turbines kill an average of two birds per year.


Another concern is that windmills disrupt the scenery. But the only view around
here is farmland
as far as the eye can see. And on this brisk day, it isn’t just corn and soybeans
being harvested: it’s
the power of wind.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Chris Lehman.

Related Links