Newest E85 pump to open in Springs on Wednesday morning

For those who prefer their gas comes from the soil of eastern Colorado, not the sands of Saudi Arabia, a ninth pump will begin dispensing E85 Wednesday in Colorado Springs.

The new pump, at the Western Convenience store at 227 W. Fillmore St., will offer a blend of 85 percent ethanol, derived from the starch in corn, and 15 percent gasoline. Most gasoline in Colorado is blended with 10 percent ethanol to reduce particulates in the air. The E85 blend, however, can be used only with flex-fuel vehicles, which have been designed to cope with the higher octane but lower energy output of ethanol.

The new pump brings stations offering the renewable fuel to more than 100 in Colorado. All of the pumps have been installed in the last nine years, most with funding and support from the Colorado Corn Growers Association and the Governor’s Biofuels Coalition.

E85 does has its limitations and its critics.

Because ethanol has less energy per unit than gasoline, using it means a drop in fuel mileage of 20 percent to 30 percent. Generally, that means ethanol has to be priced commensurately cheaper than gasoline. Because production of ethanol and flex-fuel vehicles are still relatively low and retails outlets few, that often is not the case.

Beyond that practical consideration, critics have alleged a rush by farmers to grow corn for ethanol has contributed to a global rise in food prices and that tilling fields for corn production can release carbon dioxide that negates the fuel’s lack of airborne particulates.

They say cellulosic ethanol — produced from non-food sources such as switch grass, forest waste and especially algae — is molecularly closer to gasoline, won’t affect food production and can be made into multiple biofuels.

Mark Sponsler, CEO of Colorado Corn Growers Association, said Tuesday some critics of ethanol, especially the oil industry, often put out misleading information about ethanol. The bottom line, he said, is that ethanol is far better for air quality than gasoline. He said in 2006, with the industry in its infancy, the use of ethanol rather than gasoline was the equivalent to taking 1.2 million cars off the road. He also said the future development of ethanol-only engines that take advantage of the fuel’s inherent high-octane rating will result in far better fuel mileage than current flex-fuel technology allows.

He also disputed the contention that a shift in corn production for ethanol has raised food prices. He blamed that on the same kind of speculation that concurrently led to a steep spike in crude oil prices. He said, for example, Colorado farmers have planted 1.2 million acres of corn this year, and less than 10,000 acres of that is edible sweet corn because the demand for more is not there.

He acknowledged cellulosic ethanol does hold great promise — but at this point, that technology is still in the experimental stage. If you want to put ethanol in your tank today in America, it’s going to come from corn, he said.

He said corn-based ethanol will have a viable place for the foreseeable future among other renewable forms of energy now being developed. An added benefit? The demand for corn-based ethanol may allow Colorado farmers to stay on the land and could be one of the factors that keeps younger generations from abandoning farming.

DETAILS:

The newest E85 pump in Colorado Springs — the ninth in the city — will open Wednesday at the Western Convenience store at 227 W. Fillmore St. To celebrate the event, the fuel, comprised of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline, will be sold for 85 cents a gallon from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.