(MOBILE, Ala.) Sept. 25 - There are alternatives to our nation's dependence on foreign oil. One them is the E85. The 'e' stands for ethanol. It's made from organic material, like corn, and then blended with gasoline. And with the opening of two E85 gas stations in Mobile, it is now possible to drive from the Gulf to the Great Lakes and fill up on only E85 fuel.
Tony Johnston almost had to do a double take at the pump Friday afternoon.
"It doesn't even seem real. It feels like some sort of a dream," said Johnston.
He's spending only $60 to fill up instead of the normal $100. It's because he's pumping E85 fuel in his flex fuel truck. And until now, there weren't any stations in town that sold this type of fuel.
"Maybe this will take off like a rocket ship and everybody will be able to get it everywhere," said Johnston.
The Alabama Clean Fuels Coalition is working on it. Mark Bentley says researchers in the state are developing ways to use all kinds of materials to make the ethanol, which has traditionally been made from corn.
"Wood chips, switch grass, waste that's picked up on the side of the street from the limbs and thing of that nature," said Bentley.
Bentley says there is already one production facility in Alabama and three more are planned. He says by amping up production of E85, more people will pump it.
"A lot of people don't know an Arab sheik but they do know a farmer. And we are buying domestically and it helps reduce our dependence on foreign oil," said Bentley.
E85 burns cleaner than regular gasoline, but your car won't get as many miles per gallon burning E85. E85 should only be pumped in flex fuel vehicles. Pumping E85 in non-flex fuel vehicles could damage the engine.
