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A Grand Opening
Beth Lowery and Donald Welsh at the E85 pump
By Beth Lowery
Vice President, GM Environment and Energy
This is a blog post about a fuel pump opening. Stay with me, because it’s a bigger deal than it might sound.
E85, in case you didn’t know, is an alternative fuel made up of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline. GM has already built more than two million FlexFuel vehicles that run on E85 ethanol – and there’s more on the way. (FlexFuel vehicles are just one of the things we’re doing at GM to help reduce America’s dependence on petroleum.)
So what’s the big deal about an E85 pump opening, you might ask?
We’ve been working with a number of companies who are building the supply infrastructure that will make getting E85 easier than ever. Yesterday’s event was one step further toward that goal. We’ve teamed with VeraSun Energy (a leading supplier of ethanol) and a local retailer to open a new VE85 – that’s VeraSun’s branded E85 ethanol - pump at the Georgetown Chevron in Washington, D.C. It’s the first ethanol pump within city limits that is open to the public.
That’s not all. Enterprise Rent-A-Car joined us yesterday, and announced that their main rental location in the District – just three miles from the Georgetown Chevron station - is now officially an “E85/FlexFuel branch.” They’re offering 50 GM FlexFuel vehicles for rent that are stocked with information on the benefits of E85 ethanol and the location of the Georgetown Chevron station.
These ongoing partnerships with fuel suppliers and retailers are an important part of the process of market acceptance – to get the benefits of an E85-capable vehicle, you obviously have to be able to get E85! — and yesterday’s announcements in Washington brought us closer to getting the infrastructure needed around the country.
Carlos Horcasitas, Chairman and CEO of Mid-Atlantic Petroleum Properties, and May-May A. Horcasitas Vice Chair & CFO, the station owners, went all out for this event, even repainting the entire station in the days before the opening.
And the spiffing up of the station wasn’t in vain. A host of dignitaries attended and spoke at the opening, including representatives from the District, the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Agriculture and me, representing GM.
Yes, there were lots of speeches. (No, I’m not going to recount all of them!) But events like this help to raise awareness about the advantages of ethanol:
- It can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions
- It helps reduce our dependence on petroleum and creates alternatives for our nation’s energy supply
- It can help improve vehicle performance, because E85 has a higher octane rating than gasoline
- It supports the domestic agriculture industry (from corn to cellulosic)
- GM’s E85 FlexFuel vehicles always allow the choice of using ethanol or gasoline, even allowing mixing in the same tank
- It is a renewable fuel, unlike gasoline.
You might have heard the argument that production of ethanol will threaten the domestic corn industry by driving up prices and diverting corn from food to ethanol. We’ve heard it too. But the thing is… it’s simply not true.
According to the Iowa Corn web site, the production of ethanol from corn uses only the starch of the corn kernel. All of the valuable protein, minerals and nutrients remain once the ethanol has been produced. For example, one bushel of corn produces about 2.7 gallons of ethanol, 11.4 pounds of gluten feed (20% protein), 3 pounds of gluten meal (60% protein) and 1.6 pounds of corn oil.
So what can you do? Find out where E85 ethanol stations are located near you: go to www.e85refueling.com or just press your blue OnStar button and your advisor will tell you where to find one. To find a list of GM’s E85-capable vehicles, check out www.livegreengoyellow.com.
Our commitment to alternatives to petroleum extends beyond GM and includes suppliers, retailers and drivers of Flex Fuel vehicles from all over the country. This is one of the most rewarding programs I’m involved with. Increasing the use of ethanol – and building the infrastructure to support it – is one of many steps we can take to create a greener future in our own communities. What do you think?
Posted by Editor on June 29, 2007 9:52 AM
Comments
Beth said:
You might have heard the argument that production of ethanol will threaten the domestic corn industry by driving up prices and diverting corn from food to ethanol. We’ve heard it too. But the thing is… it’s simply not true. According to the Iowa Corn web site...
Beth,
Isn't that exactly what you would expect the Iowa corn producers to say?
Why didn't you instead tell us what two University of Minnesota professors reported in a major article in the May/June issue of Foreign Affairs -- a professional journal that doesn't have a dog in the ethanol fight, as the Iowa corn growers do? In their article titled, "How biofuels could starve the poor" they say:
The enormous volume of corn required by the ethanol industry is sending shock waves through the food system. (The United States accounts for some 40 percent of the world's total corn production and over half of all corn exports.) In March 2007, corn futures rose to over $4.38 a bushel, the highest level in ten years. Wheat and rice prices have also surged to decade highs, because even as those grains are increasingly being used as substitutes for corn, farmers are planting more acres with corn and fewer acres with other crops.
This might sound like nirvana to corn producers, but it is hardly that for consumers, especially in poor developing countries, who will be hit with a double shock if both food prices and oil prices stay high.
The entire article is here: How Biofuels Could Starve the Poor
Regards,
Gary Dikkers
Posted by: Gary Dikkers on June 30, 2007 5:38 PM
Thanks GM for leading the way in flex fuel vehicles. I can hardly wait to buy my first GM hybrid or EV that runs on ethanol or other renewable fuels. I am 71 yrs old and retired from EPRI where I was a Electric Transportation R&D manager. In the late 80.s and thru the 90's I worked with most of the car companies on develping the charging infrastructure for EV's such as the EV1, and worked with very talented GM engineers, like Jon Berisa. So I know you can do the job. I have not been happy with GM or other Big 3 Auto makers cars since the late 60's. But I am inpressed with GM's new cars. You are on the right track, don't change anything you are doing. And by the way in additon to you comments on the potential affects of corn ethanol on food prices, also people don't realize that the average American consumer spends only about 15% of their budget on food, (down from about 30% fifty years ago), and an increase in food prices of say 20% due the those foods affected by corn products would only affect the total American montly budget by 3%, a small amount to pay for energy independance. Plus the future is celulosic liquid fuels, so corn is a good start, but will be replaced by celulosic.
Now if you could just get another 2000 E-85 stations up and running, we could all buy a GM flex fuel vehicle.
Keep up the good work GM!
Posted by: Gary Purcell on June 30, 2007 9:21 PM
We all need cars like the Flintstones had.
Posted by: Topher on July 1, 2007 5:00 PM
Beth Lowery asked: "What do you think?"
Beth,
See Fast Lane: A Grand Opeing for what I think.
Regards,
Gary Dikkers
Posted by: Gary Dikkers on July 1, 2007 11:54 PM
One wonders how much E85 will come from Brazilian corn as opposed to the yellow stuff in America's Breadbasket.
Posted by: Gunnar Heinrich on July 2, 2007 1:34 AM
Sorry Beth I did not respond sooner and I have not given up the cause, nope I have not given up the fight.
If I had three goals for America to make it stronger it would be
1. Energy independence
2. Debt and deficit free
3. Imports of automobiles at a minimum.
This blog is about energy independence and even though ethanol has proven the way to energy independence in Brazil the world is still so skeptical. It's nice to ask questions and play devil's advocate but to ignore one of the greatest energy independence success stories of our time is baffling.
The successes with ethanol and the technological breakthroughs that are making it more viable everyday is extraordinary.
A company called Poet once called Broin (I like that since I am a Poet check out thelovescrolls.com) had an article at grainnet.com and all such articles can be found at...
ethanol-news.newslib.com
Dated June 27, 2007
POET to Produce Cellulosic Ethanol From Corn Cobs at Emmetsburg, IA Plant
Poet, the largest dry-mill ethanol producer "announced the results of the seccessful test along with their intentions to make cobs and corn fiber the feedstock for their commercial cellulosic ethanol production facility that will be jointly funded with the U. S. Department of Energy (DOE)."
"By adding cellulosic production to an existing grain plant. POET will be able to produce 11 percent more ethanol from a bushel of corn, 27 percent more from an acre of corn, while almost completely eliminating fossil fuel consumption and decreasing water usage by 24 percent."
This is just one of the hundreds of breakthroughs that are happening every single day with ethanol, and to believe as Gary Dikkers says that ethanol production has static, unchanging and non-variable inputs is simply defeatist.
The fact is ethanol production is advancing so fast it's not going to look anything like it looks today. The costs are decreasing, yields are improving and net energy yields are improving every single minute of every single day of every single year both in Brazil and America.
Posted by: Edward Hayes on July 3, 2007 1:05 AM
