Nationwide there are just over 1,500 ethanol stations
Nationwide there are just over 1,500 ethanol stations
We’re hearing a lot about ethanol as a gas substitute. So is technology going to save America from its dependence on foreign oil? Automakers have produced millions of cars capable of running on ethanol, a renewable resource that can grow right out of American soil. So-called ‘flex-fuel’ vehicles can run on plain gasoline or any blend of up to 85% ethanol-15 percent gas, which is known as E85. ‘Flex-fuel’ vehicles don’t cost extra, and many people who buy them don’t even know they can fill them with the ethanol blend. So this a huge opportunity not to rely on foreign petroleum
Well, it would be, if you could find some ethanol. Nationwide there are just about 1,500 ethanol stations. And many of those are for government or private fleets.
Why is American auto makers making a big deal out of ‘flex-fuel’ vehicles for which there is hardly any flex-fuel. They know they have been totally outflanked by Japan competitors who understood far sooner that there’s a big market for cars with a conscience. And the E85 campaign is a ‘rear guard’ action to regain some lost ground with a general public who cares about environmental issues.
There’s money involved. Federal fuel-economy regulations basically give automakers extra credit for building dual-fuel vehicles–whether drivers use a gasoline alternative or not. That effectively allows the automakers to build less-efficient vehicles than they’d otherwise have to, and to avoid fines they’d be likely to incur for failing to meet fleetwide fuel-economy targets. To make a car on the production line ethanol-compatible, it costs only about hundred dollars extra, to add a sensor that can detect what kind of fuel is in the tank and make a few other modifications. Drivers don’t have to do anything different when running on ethanol, so there’s no consumer confusion to worry about. Yet converting a bunch of regular automobiles into flex-fuel vehicles has probably saved GM and others hundreds of millions of US$ in fines it would have had to pay for falling short of fuel-economy requirements. That’s not altruism or environmentalism. It’s just business.
Ethanol is a fuel that comes from agricultural crops such as corn, barley, and wheat and even from trees and grasses. Unlike fossil fuels, such as petroleum, these are renewable resources. If more cars ran on ethanol, that would, theoretically, reduce American dependence on oil from the Middle East and other unstable regions. Ethanol produced from corn reduces the emissions that contribute to global warming by as much as 20 percent, compared with gasoline. Ethanol made from trees and grasses can cut those emissions by as much as 80 percent.
Ethanol works in cars just like gasoline. In fact, ethanol is usually blended with gasoline in various proportions. The form that’s now being promoted is called E85, which is 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. Any car can run on blends of up to 10 percent ethanol, but cars that run on higher blends require a few modifications. Automakers have built about 5 million “flex-fuel” vehicles that can run on E85.
Flex-fuel vehicles cost little more to manufacture. Automakers have to install a sensor and a few additional components to produce a car that can run on both ethanol and gasoline, which adds about $100 to the cost. But typically they don’t pass the cost on to consumers. Automakers get credits from the government for producing flex-fuel vehicles, which helps reduce fines they would otherwise have to pay if they don’t meet overall fuel-efficiency standards. Building flex-fuel vehicles saves them money, even if nobody uses ethanol.
Ethanol is usually a bit cheaper than gasoline, although prices vary, just as they do with gas. But a motorist may not actually save money using ethanol, because ethanol contains less energy than gasoline, which means mileage is lower. In city driving, for example, instead of getting 16 miles per gallon of gasoline, you may get just 12 miles per gallon of ethanol.
So why would I want to use ethanol? For the greater good of the planet and your conscience. Ethanol produces fewer tailpipe emissions than gasoline. Some people use ethanol because they feel it may help the United States become less dependent on foreign oil. And if ethanol were to become widely used, prices might fall as energy companies increased production.
Ethanol holds a promise. The ability to operate on an alternative fuel gives a choice to consumers. But, instead of selling a bunch of ‘flex-fuel’ vehicles that will never use ethanol, why not do something that actually increases the use of ethanol and decreases the consumption of oil, forcing energy companies to build more ethanol petrol/gas stations.
Nationwide there are just over 1,500 ethanol stations