(excerpt from Growth Energy’s FYI Newsletter)

…Tom Buis, CEO of Growth Energy (said), "Ethanol is a low-carbon fuel that produces 59 percent fewer green house gas emissions than gasoline and it is home-grown. Every blender pump we install at a gas station makes our country more energy independent and gives consumers a choice, all while creating jobs in the U.S. and greening our environment."
Tom Stephens, Vice Chairman of General Motors, told a Florida ethanol audience of the need for expanding the ethanol fueling station network across the country in order to take advantage of the flex-fuel vehicles on the road today. "Two-thirds of the pumps are concentrated in 10 states and those 10 states have only about 19 percent of the flex-fuel vehicles that we have on the road," he said.
In the U.S. today, there are about 160,000 U.S. gasoline stations, but only 2,200 pump ethanol blends. Stevens said that by GM's estimate, the country needs to increase the number of stations that carry ethanol blends by 10,000 in order to be within easy reach of today's flex-fuel vehicle drivers.
General Motors and other automotive companies have been adding flex fuel capability to their vehicles to help meet federal targets for the production and consumption of renewable fuels. With ethanol use expected to rise from the current 13.9 billion gallons to 35 billion gallons by 2022, an investment in the infrastructure to deliver ethanol to consumers is essential, Buis said.

Our Take:
If only we could get a few more people to say that we need more fueling stations with higher ethanol blends—private citizens, corporations and lawmakers all need to take ownership of this important issue. Whenever an ethanol supporter has a conversation with a public official, make a point of the need for higher blends and the infrastructure that can handle them. Flexible fuel vehicles could be a growth opportunity that will have a major impact on American automakers and high paying American jobs.