The location is the third station in Virginia to offer E85, but is the most easily accessible to the general public, added a report by The Nelson County Times. A CITGO station at the Pentagon sells the fuel to civilians, but does not allow the public [image-nocss] to purchase anything else at its store. An Army & Air Force Exchange Service station in Richmond also sells E85 to the public, but only if the customer has access to a secure military facility.
There are four additional E85 stations open solely to government agencies in Hampton, Portsmouth, Richmond and Yorktown, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Only vehicles capable of running on "flexible fuel" can be filled with E85. The Charlottesville area has Virginia's second highest concentration of these vehicles, trailing behind only Northern Virginia, said the report.
The Stop In Food Store has 12 gasoline, two E85 and two biodiesel fueling nozzles. It uses a 10,000-gallon compartment tank that holds 4,000 gallons of biodiesel and 6,000 gallons of E85. The station is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week and has a 2,400-square-foot convenience store which includes a Subway sandwich shop.
"We are pleased to own the first public E85 retail location in Virginia and proud to offer a clean alternative transportation fuel," said Tom Turner of Stop In Food Stores. The facility was assisted with funds granted through the Virginia Clean Cities Coalition, which offers gas stations in Virginia, Washington and Maryland up to $12,000 to defray the costs of adding E85 pumps. Al Christopher, executive director of Virginia Clean Cities, said the grant was only a small part of a sizable investment by Petroleum Marketers Inc. to start offering E85 to the Charlottesville area.
"This is a positive step toward energy independence," Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling (pictured) said at the ceremony, according to the newspaper.
"It's encouraging to see the number of E85 stations continue to grow even as we deal with issues relating to testing lab certifications and low price of gasoline," said NEVC executive director, Phil Lampert. "The NEVC and all our national partners look forward to working with the Obama Administration and Congress to continue advance the role of ethanol in reducing our nation's dependence on imported petroleum."
Roy Foutz of Petroleum Marketers Inc., which operates 85 stations in Virginia, told the paper that the Albemarle County store will show if the market is ready for E85. If it proves popular with Charlottesville-area motorists, he said, the alternative fuel could be added at more service stations.
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