Energy News from Around the Nation & The World - West

OLYMPIA – One of the largest fuel distributors in the Northwest is delivering a blend of ethanol fuel to an Olympia gasoline station that sells for about 80 cents less per gallon than unleaded.

Ethanol in Eastern Idaho

Ethanol plant means big things for Butte

Boulder proper to get first E85 pump this summer

Company plans ethanol stations in Coolidge, CG

E85 available at another Tucson station

Kit allows most fuel-injected cars to run on E85/Colorado

Ethanol debuts at Southside Station

Steamboat Springs — When a representative of the Mustang Roundup convention called the Steamboat Springs Chamber Resort Association last week to find out whether E85 ethanol fuel was available in Steamboat, the answer was “yes.” It would have been a different answer just a week earlier. more

E85 Finally For Sale in Lewis County

It costs about $3 a gallon, comes out of a yellow hose and smells a little bit like corn syrup.

Wilcox and Flegel Oil Co.’s Airport Depot Texaco, in Chehalis, is now the first gas station along the Interstate 5 corridor between Portland and Seattle to serve E85 fuel, according to company officials.

Alternative Fuel With Lower Price Catches on in Las Vegas

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Local E85 sales rising

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Wyo cellulosic ethanol plant reaches milestone

The first small-scale waste wood commercial facility to be operated in the United States according to its operator, KL Process Design Group, is embarking on a new phase of development. more

New Ethanol Plant in Colorado

Colorado is getting a new ethanol plant as businesses seek to take advantage of increased demand with gasoline prices setting records. more

E85 Hitting L.A. at 85 Cents a Gallon

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City using flex fuel, hybrid vehicles to cut costs

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Phoenix to Get First Its E85 Station

Western States Petroleum, Arizona’s leader in biodiesel delivery, has become the first Phoenix retailer to offer E85. more

Green memo to Beaverton councilors: Try the tap

When it comes to being green, the Beaverton City Council talks the talk, but does it drink the drink?

At Monday night's council meeting, environmental advocate Barbara Wilson asked city leaders what they were doing to reduce the carbon footprint of the city and its residents.more

Menlo Park firm may have the solution for ethanol's problems

U.S. energy policy-makers see ethanol as a way to help solve global warming as well reduce the country's "addiction" to oil from foreign, often volatile, sources like the Middle East. more

Tulare to offer ethanol pumps City to become one of first in America to offer new E85 blend fuel.

Tulare will soon become one of the first cities in California where drivers can fuel up on E85, a blend of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline. more

GJ goes green to decrease consumption

Grand Junction will become the first municipal government on the Western Slope to install an E85 ethanol pump to accommodate the city’s growing fleet of vehicles that can run on either gasoline or ethanol. more

Town’s first green fleet vehicles hit the streets

Castle Rock's air became a little cleaner last week, when the Town's first two hybrid vehicles hit the streets on Nov. 15. more

San Francisco and the Biodiesel Revolution

Through the efforts of the SF Department of the Environment, virtually all of San Francisco's diesel fleet will be running on B20 biodiesel by year's end, including MUNI, the SF Zoo, Airport Shuttles and elements of the Fire Department. more

Tucson getting sixth E85 outlet

Drivers of flex-fuel vehicles may find Thursday morning a good time to tank up with ethanol-based E85 fuel. A new South Side gas station and convenience store will offer the fuel for 85.9 cents per gallon from 7 to 9 a.m., said Colleen Crowninshield, manager of the Clean Cities Program at the Pima Association of Governments. more

Colorado

Ft. Carson going green?   They're not designed to grab your attention, they're even considered non-tactical in Army terms.  But beyond appearance there's a strategy.  David Cruz, Fort Carson's Transportation Motor Pool project manager says, "Our fleet right now is about 50 to 52 percent, which we call alternative fuel vehicles."  They're not Humvee's nor Bradley fighting vehicles, which get about 1 mile per gallon, but cars, SUV's and vans used for administrative purposes around post.  Of Fort Carson's fleet of about 430 non-tactical vehicles, more than 200 are able to run on something other than gasoline. more

Biofuel use grows

Biofuel is going mainstream in Oregon. more

Willamette University gives students, staff Flex-ability in their transportation options

Campus joins Flexcar program to encourage public transportation, support sustainability. more

The new and the notable at the Seattle Auto Show

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 Colorado

Green car buying gets easier Automakers offering more choices for high mileage, low emissions

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The governor's task force on transportation is probably wise in its belief that Coloradans can only stomach so much in higher taxes to keep up with highway construction and maintenance over the next couple of decades. more

 US ETHANOL(TM) Opens First Green         Biofuel Station in Longview, WA

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New spot for flex-fuel users

Gas-station owners in Boulder have been slow to add E85 to their pumps

Finally, the 4,000 owners of flex-fuel vehicles in Boulder can fill up their tanks with E85 within city limits. more

Ethanol plant begins production

E.J. HARRIS / AP

Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski talks with plant manager Jay Holthus while touring the new Pacific Ethanol Columbia distillery Friday in Boardman, Ore. more

ClimateSmart: Reducing transportation emissions in Boulder

Q: I have read that fueling a car with ethanol instead of regular gasoline emits fewer CO2 emissions. Which cars can use it and where can I get it in the Denver Metro area? more

CCGA: Thornton Opens 36th E85 Fueling Station In Colorado

The Colorado Corn Growers Association (CCGA) together with the Governor’s Biofuels Coalition, Regional Air Quality Council, Western Convenience Store and General Motors are partnering to celebrate the opening of a new E85 pump location at 9190 Huron Street in Thornton, Colorado.

E85 is an environmentally safe and renewable fuel made from corn. It contains 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. Consumers who drive FFV’s can use any combination of E85 and gasoline. more

New Super Stop first to offer environment-friendly fuel

Another Super Stop is coming to the Gila Valley. more

E85 pumps arrive in Boulder County

Colorado

The 1st Stop convenience store on Ken Pratt Blvd. in Longmont welcomed a new “E85” pump this week that delivers a blend of 85% corn-based ethanol and 15% petroleum. Part of the state Energy Office’s campaign to have 50 working E85 pumps across Colorado by the end of the year, the 1st Stop outlet is number 35 so far.

New ethanol pumps offer cheap energy to drivers as gas prices soar

With the price of regular gasoline hitting record highs, one Brighton gas station is offering drivers a cheaper, cleaner way to fill their tanks. more

Poudre Valley Coop Opens One of Colorado's Largest Biofuels Stations

Valley welcomes the ethanol era

The age of ethanol is about to arrive in the Valley. Pinal Energy LLC, a subsidiary of Arizona Grain Co., is putting the finishing touches on the state’s first ethanol production plant near the town of Maricopa in Pinal County. more

Tucson is place to be for alt fuel, ethanol

Tucsonans looking for ways to snuff out the pollution that contributes to global warming might not have to look further than the corner gas station. Tucson is the Southwest's epicenter of ethanol, a corn-based fuel that the U.S. Department of Energy says puts out 18 percent to 29 percent less greenhouse gas than fossil fuel. Of the 10 gas stations from New Mexico to California that sell E85, a common ethanol-based fuel for cars, five are in Tucson, thanks largely to C&T Oil gas station owner Tom Cooley, who has three. more

Three new E85 pumps open at Agland

Harrow of Greeley was the first customer to fill up with E85 following the grand opening of Agland Inc.'s three new pumps at the Cenex Ampride station in west Greeley Wednesday morning. more

Ask The Californian

Q: I bought a flex-fuel car but after buying it I have not been able to find a station in town that sells the ethanol blend of gas. Is there one in town, or are they planning on putting one in? more

Salazar bill would put money into renewable energy

The Western Slope should be involved in developing renewable energy, said U.S. Rep. John Salazar, D-Colo., who has introduced legislation to promote development in the state.

The Cellulosic Ethanol Development and Implementation Act of 2007, H.R. 395, calls for the establishment of two programs with $1 billion each in funding. more

Green vehicle store headed for downtown Los Gatos

Ehab and Heidi Youssef are frustrated with the way the world is going and want to do something about it. So they've decided to open a business.

"We want to make electric vehicles and alternative fuel vehicles widely available and affordable," Ehab Youssef said at the Feb. 28 meeting of the Los Gatos Planning Commission. He was asking the commission to approve a conditional-use permit that would allow the couple to open an electric vehicle store in downtown Los Gatos. The commission unanimously approved the permit.

The store, called Green Vehicles, is set to open at 33 N. Santa Cruz Ave. Green Vehicles will specialize in the sale of electric cars, electric scooters, electric bicycles, "flex-fuel" vehicles that can run on alternative fuels and various solar-powered products, such as lighting and heating systems. In addition, the store will host workshops about the benefits of electric vehicles. more

 Tucson Region

  Ethanol Experts See Bright Future for Alternative Fuel

The ethanol industry that makes fuel for vehicles is on a roll and can expect huge production increases as officials hunt for alternatives to imported oil and for ways to slash greenhouse-gas emissions, speakers said Tuesday in Tucson. more

Ethanol-fuel mandate may be revived

Gardner urges ‘a step back from the policies we considered last year and do something more on the free market side’. 

While area lawmakers lauded Gov. Bill Ritter for promoting the availability of gasoline containing 85 percent ethanol, Democrats and Republicans are divided over whether government mandates are required for its sale.

Steam forms above Sterling Ethanol in early February. The local plant is at full production and with the possibility of a statewide ethanol mandate from the state Legislature, more ethanol may be needed.

“We have seen the growth in the ethanol industry and it’s happening without mandates,” said Rep. Cory Gardner, R-Yuma, who last year was the House sponsor of an ethanol standards bill that was vetoed by then Gov. Bill Owens. more

VentureOne three-wheeled hybrid does flex-fuel

The vehicle will hold three folks, and the company has plans for two plug-in hybrid variations that utilize a flex-fuel approach to barely sip gasoline from the four gallon tank, all while touting 100 miles per gallon and the ability to hit speeds upwards of 100 miles per hour; more

Area may get eco-friendly fuel stations

A Coburg company is scouting potential local sites for dispensing flex-fuel that will be produced by two Oregon ethanol plants

In the next 15 months two ethanol plants will go on line in northern Oregon, providing E85 fuel for the region that heretofore has

relied on Midwestern suppliers. more

Seattle company considers Oregon city for ethanol plant

KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. -- A Seattle company is evaluating a Klamath Falls site for a $150 million ethanol plant.

The plant would employ 45 to 50 people full time, said an official of E85 Inc. more

Serial Hybrid Hints

This week the Los Angeles Auto Show had its 100th annual exhibition at the Los Angeles Convention Center.  In his keynote address on 11-29, Rick Wagoner, the Chairman and CEO of General Motors, congratulated the producers when he said “you have ‘arrived’ this year as one of the industry’s top international shows.” ...more

DOE Selects CA Team to Jumpstart E85 Ethanol Fueling Network

PASADENA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The federal Department of Energy (DOE) announced that it has selected a strong collaborative team comprised of CALSTART, General Motors, Pacific Ethanol, CleanFUEL USA, Community Environmental Council and others to receive grant funding to jump start a major new alternative fuel network in the state. The grant would provide partial funding to build 15 publicly accessible E85 ethanol stations in California.   More

One Step Closer to Mass Producing Ethanol

Today is an important milestone in the drive to produce more alternative fuels. The journal "Science" is publishing the first-ever genome of a tree, the poplar tree. And a Bay Area lab has helped in this critical step toward figuring out how to replace gasoline.

It's important because with the poplar's genome, we are one giant step closer to mass production of ethanol. Ethanol is a clean-burning alternative to gasoline, but right now it's expensively and inefficiently produced from corn.   More

Biofuel outlet nears opening in Eugene, OR

It's been a long time coming - four years of advance work, two years of cleanup and construction - but Eugene's first alternative fuel retail station will open for business sometime in the next couple of weeks.

SeQuential Biofuels, a Eugene-born company that kick-started the sale and production of biodiesel in Oregon, will be selling ethanol and biodiesel blends at a station just off Interstate 5.  More story information