At first, the fuel will be the same blend everyone else is offering, but that will go green in the future. The station will feature E10 gasoline (10% ethanol) and biodiesel (B5 and B20). "Our goal here is probably in the next six to eight months is to have an E85 pump available, because right now, there's between 30 and 50 vehicles [image-nocss] a month being sold in this direct market that are flex fuel," Andrew Kellar, founder of Simply Green Biofuels told the news outlet.
Simply Green is taking what its owners call the "100 Mile Challenge" by committing to stock at least 75% of the congreenience store's inventory with products created within a 100-mile radius of Dover, added a report by SeacoastOnline.com.
"This concept was second nature to us," Kellar told the newspaper. "We want to provide a local option, not only for fuel, but for items that people use every day. Our customers can come in to shop and know that what they are buying is helping our local community, as well as reducing their own carbon footprint."
Not only will the products within the store be local and organic whenever possible, but the renovations of the existing building are all being done locally and in as environmentally friendly fashion as possible. Using paints with low volatile organic compounds (VOCs), bamboo flooring and the reuse of existing wood has been a priority, as well as partnering with local suppliers in order to complete the project with as little impact on the environment as possible.
Kellar also said, "We're going to have solar panels up on the roof on this roof line over here, so what we're going to consume in electricity, we're going to try to offset a portion of it."
Simply Green Biofuels started with the intention of offering green alternatives to home heating, diesel and marine fueling on the Seacoast area in New Hampshire. The company quickly expanded its service area to include northern Massachusetts and southern Maine, said the report.
Separately,eight gas stations in California have earned top honors as 2008-2009 "Mojave Green Businesses" from the Mojave Desert Air Quality Management District within its jurisdiction: Terrible Herbst No. 135, Barstow. Circle K Store No. 109, Barstow. ARCO No. 5471/Prestige Station #5472, Apple Valley. ARCO/Prestige Station #9703, Barstow. Kago Oil Co. No. 2700355, Joshua Tree. G & M Oil Co. No. 128, Yucca Valley. Gas N Save, Yucca Valley. 7-Eleven Store No. 21036, Yucca Valley.
"It is quite a feat to make this elite list," Violette Roberts, community relations manager for the air-quality district, told The Hi-Desert Star.
Roberts called the annual operations and equipment inspection "one of the most rigorous."
To qualify as a Mojave Green Business, a station must get a perfect score of 100% on the inspection, get a perfect score should a field inspector make an unscheduled review and have no calls from the public or other agencies for problems or concerns at the station during the inspection year. Among the many items on the extensive checklists, the air-quality district inspects the pump nozzle assembly to see that numerous parts in the valves and seals effectively control vapors. Underground storage tanks are checked to see if they are filled correctly, and the locks and caps work safely.
California is known to have extremely strict environmental requirements, said the report, and Roberts commended the Green Business earners as being "at the top of their games."
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