Ethanol use growing

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White stickers saying “This product contains 10 percent or less ethanol” have begun showing up at area gas pumps, and more soon will follow, officials said.

BP, Pilot and Kangaroo gas stations across Southeast Tennessee and North Georgia are selling a mix of 90 percent gasoline and 10 percent ethanol. Fuel Mart No. 4 off Lee Highway in Cleveland, Tenn., sells an 85/15 mix of gas and ethanol, records show.

The number of blends will increase as fuel companies comply with the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, said Alan Wright, vice president of supply and distribution for Pilot Oil Co. The Knoxville-based company distributes fuel to Tennessee and Georgia, he said.

The energy bill Congress passed in December increasing mileage standards also requires fuel companies to use 9 billion gallons of renewable fuels this year. By 2022, the law requires companies to use 36 billion gallons of renewable fuel, or 25 percent of total fuel use, records show.

“To not have it will be unusual,” Mr. Wright said.

Jonathan Overly, executive director of the East Tennessee Clean Fuels Coalition, said all cars made after 1980 can run on the mix.

He said most fuel companies probably will use the 90/10 blend at first because it’s the easiest to mix.

“One thing that’s easy to do is that ethanol blend,” he said.

‘IT’S THE PRICE’

Jeff Allen, of Ringgold, Ga., stopped to refuel his work van last week at a Kangaroo station off Interstate 75 that sells a 10 percent mix of ethanol.

Mr. Allen, who owns Pro-Clean of Chattanooga, said he drives almost 100 miles a day to clean carpets. He said he thinks making fuel cleaner is important, but for him the bottom line is cost.

“My main concern is gas going up to $4 a gallon,” he said. “It’s the price.”

Mr. Overly said there’s a debate over whether ethanol can help lower gas prices. Corn prices can dictate how much the fuel costs, he said, and government subsidies to corn producers and fuel companies play a role, he said.

Richard Smiley, also of Ringgold, stopped at the same station a few minutes later to fill up his car. He said he likes the idea of buying ethanol made from corn grown in the United States instead of sending the money to oil companies overseas.

“There’s such a demand for fuel, and corn (is) something we can grow,” he said.

AAA South spokesman Greg Laskoski said gas prices in Tennessee and Georgia have skyrocketed in recent weeks. Tennessee has edged close to a historic high of $3.16 a gallon, with the average price only three cents below that now, he said. Ethanol may help, he said.

“Theoretically, it’s supposed to lower the cost of gasoline,” he said. “But I’m not sure a 10 percent mix is enough to lower the cost.”

Keith Bell is senior vice president of fuel for North Carolina-based The Pantry, owner of Kangaroo fuel stations.

Mr. Bell said prices can fluctuate between corn and fuel costs. The ethanol blend could become more expensive than using 100 percent gasoline, he said. When that occurs, most fuel suppliers will switch back to buying the full gasoline product, making sure the consumer still sees savings, he said.

“We do it when there’s value to it. We stop doing it when there’s no value to it,” he said.

Scott Shankle, president of Sweetwater Valley Oil Co. in Sweetwater, Tenn., said his company has started blending a 90/10 fuel mix and delivering it to Marathon gas stations in Sweetwater and Athens, Tenn. Mr. Shankle said tax incentives and government subsidies have helped lower the cost to the consumer. His fear is not about gas prices, he said, but in the costs associated with corn.

“I’m thinking it’s going to raise food prices more,” he said.

‘YOU CAN'T DO IT ON CORN ALONE’

Chris Flavin is president of Worldwatch Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank focused on environmental sustainability.

Mr. Flavin said the 9 billion gallons of renewable fuels to be used this year equals 6 percent of fuel consumption in the United States. Federal requirements also call for an increase in production of ethanol from grasses and agricultural waste, he said. But technology does not exist to mass-produce those type ethanols, he said.

“There’s a bit of a wish and a prayer on this, and you can’t do it all on corn alone,” he said.

But the federal government is right to take measures to help consumers and the environment, he said.

“They should have been blending ethanol a long time ago,” Mr. Flavin said.