E85, the Cleaner-Burning Fuel for Cars
by Peter DeMarco (Boston.com) A reader from Stoughton was suspicious: A gallon of gas for $3.20? There had to be a catch, he said, and suggested I investigate.
The station offering the amazing deal was the Route 138 South Gulf in Canton.
Station owner Brian Gillis picked up the phone when I called. The price was correct — but it wasn’t for gasoline. Gillis sells “E85,” an ethanol-based alternative fuel that’s cheaper per gallon and cleaner-burning than standard gasoline, though less efficient.
“It will be three years November 1st since we revamped the gas station and added it,” Gillis told me. “Every year our sales have gone up.’’ He estimated that between 2010 and last year, sales doubled. “This year it’s maybe about 20 or 30 percent more.” …At the start of this year, Gillis was one of just four station owners in all of Massachusetts who sold E85.
…Other states also offer incentive and grant programs that help station owners finance the cost of installing separate E85 pumps and tanks. Those programs don’t exist here.
But with gas prices hovering around $4, car manufacturers are making more vehicles that can run on E85, which costs about 40 cents less per gallon than standard gas. General Motors says it’s the world’s biggest maker of flexible-fuel cars, having rolled out more than 7 million vehicles that can run on either gasoline or E85. READ MORE
