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Feb 15, 2007 9:28 am US/Mountain
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What Is The Benefit Of E85 To All Of Us?
by Alan Gionet
DENVER (CBS4) ―
Gov. Bill Ritter and General Motors will announce a deal Thursday to add 40 new E85 fueling locations in the state of Colorado.
General Motors is backing the plan because it sells more "Flex-fuel" vehicles capable of using the cheaper E85 than any other manufacturer.
Ritter campaigned on a promise to bring more alternative fuel sources to Colorado.
"I know it's better than regular gas," says a woman filling her father's truck with E85.
It is better in terms of the environment says supporter Stacey Simms, a member of the governor's E85 Coalition Committee.
"In looking at the air quality here in Denver, one of the issues that we really worry about is ozone," she said.
Simms also works for the American Lung Association. She's well aware that ozone can get trapped at ground levels during temperature inversions in the Denver metro area, causing lung problems.
"E85 helps out in that it reduces VOCs which are volatile organic compounds by about 15 percent," she said.
E85 is 85 percent ethanol. About 6 million vehicles on the road in the U.S. can use it.
There are currently 13 filling stations in Colorado that sell E85.
Critics point out that mileage drops when using E85 by as much as 20 percent or more. But the cost is less.
When gasoline shot up above $3 a gallon last year, E85 was selling for $1.99 a gallon. It's still there, but the price of gasoline has come down.
The government has already been offering subsidies in the form of tax breaks to filling stations that perform the expensive operation of installing new E85 tanks.
And there's a great deal of research going on in an attempt to produce ethanol economically from things like switch grass rather than ears of corn.
GM has been pinning its hopes on research leading to cheaper ethanol. Car buyers have expressed a desire for more stations. Now GM and Ritter have found a common interest that will help them.
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