Ethanol Flex Fuel Scarce in Tri-State

Steve Eisenhauer likens finding a flex fuel pump to locating the Holy Grail. He should know. Hes been looking for two years. "I cant seem to find E-85 here locally," said the Warrick County resident. Eisenhauer bought a 2006 Mercury Grand Marquis in part because it could run on fuel made from corn. E-85 is made by fermenting the sugars in corn to produce ethyl alcohol. Ethanol makes up 85% of E-85 fuel. The remaining 15% of the fuel is typically comprised of gasoline. The blend is sold at about one hundred Indiana fuel stations, but none in the immediate Evansville area. Eisenhauer says he drives to Jasper to buy ethanol, but often opts for regular gasoline. Other E-85 retailers are located in Vincennes, Washington and Sullivan. Illinois fuel stations sell E-85 in Clay City and Eldorado. With such a long and fuel consuming drive to fill up with flex fuel, Eisenhauer says its often not worth the drive. He thought in the two years since he purchased the car that more retailers would pick up E-85. "Surely by now there would be some stations in Evansville," he said. That change could be in the offing. With the passage of SB 360 the Indiana Senate has shown support for increasing the subsidy paid to fuel stations to install E-85 pumps and sell the fuel. SB 360 calls for an increase in the state subsidy from $5,000 to 20,000. The measure passed its second reading the Indiana House Monday, and could soon be up for a final vote. Thats good news for Steve Eisenhauer. "E-85 is not the golden bullet, Im not that naive to think that," said Eisenhauer. "But if we had that to offer... it would have to cut our dependence on foreign oil."