First E85 pump opens in metro Atlanta

In Georgia, the first E85 pump in the Atlanta metro area opened at a Texaco station in Smyrna. The pump is the first of 20 expected to become available for 165,000 flex-fuel car owners in Georgia. A spokesman for the station said that ethanol would be priced at 15 to 20 cents less than regular unleaded gas.

Earlier this week, Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley called on President Bush to direct the Environmental Protection Agency to approve E15, E20, E30 blends. Grassley said that with E85 not gaining acceptance, the US had to find other ways to ensure a market for higher blends of ethanol.

Sen. Byron Dorgan of North Dakota recently touted tax incentive legislation to stimulate installation of E85 pumps, the lack of which are a primary opportunity for ethanol expansion. But Mike Rud, president of the North Dakota Petroleum Marketers Association, said that fuel marketers need upfront incentive money, not tax incentives, because fuel marketers don’t make money at the pump and so tax incentives are not helpful. Rud added that there are only about two dozen E85 pumps in North Dakota and that there is little demand from consumers to add more.

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