What Is Flex Fuel and Why Don't We See It More in Southern Oregon and Northern California?

by Tiffany Olin (KTVL News 10) As people continue to feel pain at the pump, flex fuel has come to the forefront as a solution because of its typically cheaper sticker price.

Flex fuel is a blend of gasoline and ethanol. While most regular gasoline in the country has up to 10% ethanol, flex fuel has a higher ethanol concentration.

There are a variety of flex fuels such as E30, E50, E70 and E85, which is the most popular.

The only difference among the flex fuels is the amount of ethanol; the percentage of ethanol is represented with the numbers after "E": E85 has 85% ethanol.

“The more ethanol you get in your fuel, generally the lower the price you see,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, there are only four ethanol fueling station locations in Oregon located in Bend, Eugene and Portland; the closest ethanol station in California is located in the city of Anderson.

De Haan continued to explain that most ethanol is shipped via rail, so it is more difficult to transport it to areas further from its production like California and Oregon.fuel

If you do find a station with flex fuel, your vehicle must be a flexible fuel vehicle also known as an FFV in order to use it safely without potentially damaging your car.

FFV’s are designed to run on gasoline or gasoline-ethanol blends of up to 85% ethanol or E85. READ MORE; includes VIDEO