"Ethanol Prices Are Killing E85"

Want more proof that E85 is going to be a disaster as a taxpayer-supported fuel by states?

This is from the Columbus (Nebraska) Telegram:

The state's [Nebraska] flexible fuel vehicles are the only consumers of E85 fuel in Columbus, which is priced about $2.80 per gallon - for supplies that have been on hand since April.

If E85 were purchased based on today's wholesale prices, the price at the pump would be about $3.60 per gallon.

Because of the high cost of ethanol and vehicles receiving lower mileage with the fuel, the flow of E85 has slowed to a drip a year after three area stations installed the pumps...

Jeff Johnson, general manager of Sapp Bros.' Sinclair, 4300 23rd St., said when the pumps were opened last July he hoped the station would be one of the first to offer an innovative and lucrative product. When the pumps opened the price for E85 was set at $1.899, but since then pure ethanol has increased by $2.30 a gallon, more than double the price a year ago...

“Since we have gotten into the E85 business, ethanol has gone through the roof,” he said. “Ethanol prices are killing E85.”

White Star in Albion and AJ's C Store in Duncan, both owned by John Sellhorst, installed E85 pumps in April and June 2005, respectfully.

Sellhorst said ethanol prices have hurt sales to the point that he has not ordered E85 since April, when a price boom occurred...

Phyllis Stopak, manager of AJ's, said E85 sales were extremely slow.

“I don't think we have sold any in the month of June,” Stopak said.

Joan Sokol, manager of White Star, said there were no sales of E85 last week, and less than 20 gallons were sold the week before.

“People won't pay higher prices to get less gas mileage,” Sokol said, except for state vehicles.

Johnson said he also noticed a trend of state vehicles being the primary consumers of E85 fuel.

“The sad part is the only people we are selling to are government entities,” he said.

$3.60 a gallon for government E85 fleets based on current prices is a bad deal. Considering that burning E85 results in a 30% drop in efficiency, to get the same miles as a 100% gasoline-fuelled car you'd have to spend almost $4.70 a gallon for E85.

The current price for a gallon of 100% gas in Columbus, Nebraska is $2.75.

E85 is a ripoff.

What's amazing is that this is basically the only recent newspaper article that fully spells out the truth about E85's problems in the market, and it came out over a week ago. And I bet almost nobody's read it because who's ever heard of the newspaper in Columbus, Nebraska?

Even the Des Moines Register's story this past week about E10's recent price increases played dumb.

Meanwhile, Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack wants to spend $180 million of taxpayer dollars pushing E85 onto gas stations and owners of FFV-capable vehicles while Detroit automakers push E85-capable engines instead of offering hybrids or common-rail diesels in order to game CAFE standards.

E85 is an expensive taxpayer ripoff with wheels currently in motion. What are you going to do to stop it?


Related: Iowa Starts E85 Pump Grants and Iowa Starts E85 Pump Grants, Part 2