BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is considering selling ethanol at the eight gas stations that it operates at Wal-Mart Stores and at about 380 more that it runs as part of Sam's Club, according to Fortune. It could also decide to sell ethanol in a partnership with Murphy Oil Corp., which operates about 946 stations in Wal-Mart parking lots.
Our goal would be to make E85 available across the U.S., Rich Ezell, senior strategy manager of fuel at Wal-Mart, told the magazine. While more than five million U.S. vehicles can run on E85 (85% ethanol, 15% [image-nocss] gasoline), and automakers plan to significantly ramp up production of flex-fuel vehicles (FFVs), only about 800 U.S. stationsout of a total of approximately 168,000pump E85.
Selling ethanol could be a new profit center for Wal-Mart, since the retailing business is wide-open. It's also a way for the company to help its customers save money; the less money they pour into the tank, they more they have to spend at Wal-Mart, the report said.
And Wal-Mart's interest in alternative fuels comes as part of its efforts to adopt business practices that are better for the environment. To guide its efforts, Wal-Mart has organized more than a dozen sustainable value networks that are composed of suppliers, environmentalists, industry experts and government officials.
The company brought an impressive group of movers-and-shakers to the kickoff meeting of its alternative fuels network in Washington last May, said the report. Participants included representatives of General Motors, Ford and DaimlerChrysler, the National Corn Growers Association, ethanol-makers such as Cargill, Blue Fire Ethanol and Iogen, consulting firms Green Strategies, BluSkye and the Rocky Mountain Institute and nonprofits Conservation International, Environmental Defense, the Natural Resources Defense Fund, the World Wildlife Fund and the Worldwatch Institute. For most of a day, they discussed how Wal-Mart could help promote alternative fuels.
One longtime ethanol advocate said Wal-Mart, if it agrees to distribute E8, could be a catalyst to making ethanol a mainsteam alternative to gasoline for millions of Americans. That would be a complete game-changer, Reid Detchon, the executive director of the Energy Future Coalition, told Fortune. Everybody knows where the local Wal-Mart is. You would immediately know where to buy E85.
But Wal-Mart isn't ready to commit to ethanol yet, the report said, citing company insiders. Before doing so, it needs ensure access to ample supplies of ethanol, at a price competitive with gasoline. Wal-Mart is also waiting for ethanol dispensers to get certified by the Underwriters Laboratory, which tests products for safety, said the report.
GM has also been trying to help build an ethanol infrastructure. In California, Texas, Pennsylvania and several Midwestern states, the automaker has helped bring together ethanol refiners, governments and retailers to sell E85. Those selling the fuel include Meijer supermarket chains and the Sheetz convenience store chain.
And the Kroger Co. has begun selling E85 at some of its supermarket fueling stations in Texas and central Ohio. Is said it plans to offer E85 at more Kroger fuel centers as consumer demand grows. The retailer operates more than 600 stations nationwide, including more than 80 in Ohio, all of which are located next to Kroger grocery stores. Kroger also operates more than 700 convenience store fueling sites in the United States.
Philip J. Lampert, executive director of the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition (NEVC), said the number of U.S. stations with ethanol has doubled in the past two years. It's still just a drop in the bucket, but we're making significant progress, he told Fortune.
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