TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Southwest Georgia Oil Co. Inc.'s Inland Food Stores, along with General Motors Corp. (GM) and the state of Florida, unveiled plans to launch E85 ethanol fueling sites in the greater Tallahassee, Fla., area. Under the partnership, Southwest Georgia Oil will identify 16 additional area fueling stationsunder the names Inland Fuel and SunStop convenience storeswhere E85 ethanol will begin to roll out between now and the beginning of 2007.
The announcement was made at an Inland Food Store, the first location to publicly offer E85 ethanol [image-nocss] in Florida, at an event presided over by Governor Jeb Bush, whoaccording to a Tallahassee Democrat reportplayed gas jockey. He told reporters, For the first time in eight years, I'm going to be filling a gas tank. So watch out.
In June, he signed the 2006 Florida Energy Act into law, a comprehensive strategy to diversify the Florida's fuel supply and provide long-term energy security. The four-year, $100 million plan provides rebates, grants and tax incentives to create a more balanced energy portfolio by increasing Florida's investment in the development of alternative fuel technologies.
Bush said, Securing a diverse and reliable supply of energy will reduce Florida's dependence on imported oil and ensure that a balanced mix of fuel sources and technologies are available for years to come. The tremendous potential of ethanol to become a major source of transportation fuel for Florida's energy future will be spurred with greater public access to ethanol fueling stations.
Mike Harrell, president and CEO of Inland Food Stores, said, Inland is proud to offer the first retail E85 dispensers in the state of Florida, said Mike Harrell, President and CEO, Inland Food Stores. We are committed to making alternative fuel choices like E85 easily available to the public and we are excited to be teaming up with Gov. Bush, [GM] and our supply partners to promote E85's availability and to increase consumer awareness. We also wish to acknowledge the help of the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition in our endeavor.
Harrell told the newspaper: "I used to be a petroleum marketer, and ethanol has converted me into being an energy marketer.
GM will continue to spend significant advertising and promotion dollars to help generate awareness of E85 flexible fuel vehiclesand where consumers can purchase E85 ethanolwith consumer marketing initiatives and dealer outreach. GM already has more than two million vehicles on the road today that are capable of using E85 ethanol fuel, said Elizabeth Lowery, GM vice president of environment and energy.
The effort is similar to announcements GM has already made with other state government, oil industry, ethanol producers and retail partners in California, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota and Texas. Since May 2005, GM has announced partnerships with states and fuel providers around the country to locate, to date, up to 170 new E85 ethanol fueling locations by the end of 2006.
At the beginning of 2006, GM launched a major national advertising campaign, Live Green, Go Yellow to build consumer awareness around the benefits of E85 ethanol and GM's E85 flex-fuel vehicles (FFVs). In addition to the general public, GM will help make it easier for consumers to locate E85 fueling stations by using its OnStar technology to provide directions to the nearest station when needed.
Bainbridge, Ga.-based Southwest Georgia Oil operates 30 convenience locations throughout Florida, Georgia and Alabama.
Separately, Maritime Energy, Rockport, Maine, is nowoffering on-road biodiesel at its new Maritime Farms' c-store in Rockport. We recently completed the construction of a new 3,168 sq ft convenience store which is open for business. In June of last year, it was the first to introduce biodiesel to Midcoast Maine, vice president Susan Ware said.
Sunoco has added E85 pumps at two Ohio stationsin Mt. Gilead and Marion, reported Business First of Columbus. Nine alternative fuel retail locations are opening this year statewide, it added, aided by funding from the state's Biofuels Retail Price Incentive Program.
And 11 Stinker Stations in southwestern Idaho will begin offering biodiesel fuel next week, said the Associated Press. The stations upgraded their pumps and equipment after receiving a $124,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy and the Idaho Department of Water Resources. The stations will offer a blend of 10% biofuel and 90% petroleum diesel at first, and plan to offer a 20% blend soon.
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