GREEN CARS SAVE MONEY AT THE PUMP

There are 51,726 green vehicles registered in Nebraska. I don't mean that the vehicles are painted green. This "green" refers to clean burning flex fuel cars and light trucks that can use E85, which is a blend of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline.

With gas prices so high, the owners of these green vehicles have to be the happiest drivers on the road. Last week I saw that one gas station in Omaha was selling E85 for $3.17 a gallon which was 82 cents a gallon cheaper than regular unleaded.

Besides being less expensive, every time we use ethanol and other renewable fuels that are grown here at home, we contribute to America’s efforts to gain energy independence and we help our economy.

Renewable Fuels Already Helping
An analyst with Merrill Lynch estimates the price of gas would be about 15% higher if renewable fuels were not displacing billions of barrels of oil. Iowa State University not only confirmed that estimate but took it one step further saying that ethanol has reduced gasoline prices 29-40 cents per gallon.

Nationwide, there are more than 6 million flex fuel vehicles on the road and automakers have pledged to double production to 2 million a year by 2010. This means we'll need more E85 pumps around the country to accommodate them.

According to the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition there are 1,649 E85 pumps nationwide which is an increase of more than 400 since last year. In Nebraska, we have 45 E85 pumps.

Installing More E85 Pumps
I hope a bill I am co-sponsoring will lead to even more E85 pumps. It's called the E85 Education and Expansion Act and it requires the U.S. Department of Agriculture to establish a program of grants to majority farmer-owned ethanol producers to install E85 fuel infrastructure.

This comes on top of a provision I pushed for in the 2005 Energy Policy Act which created tax credits of up to $30,000 for the installation of E85 pumps at service stations.

When 2008 expansion is complete, the U.S. ethanol industry will supply more than 13 billion gallons of ethanol, representing nearly 10 percent of the nation's gasoline demand. By 2022 that amount will triple thanks to the Energy Bill which requires 36 billion gallons of renewable fuels to be produced annually. That’s enough to displace more than 11 billion barrels of crude oil.

Keep Focusing on Energy Security
The latest legislation which will lead to more E85 pumps, along with bills I have introduced to encourage the development of biogas and celluosic biofuels, is part of the framework we need to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and fossil fuels and create a diverse, sustainable energy policy for our nation.

We need to do a number of things now to ease the price of fuel including drilling for more oil but we never want to lose sight of the goal which is energy independence and the role that renewable fuels will play.

You can learn more about E85, flex fuel vehicles, cellulosic ethanol and much more by logging onto a Department of Energy website www.fueleconomy.gov. There’s even a section that will calculate the amount of money you'll save by using E85.

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	Column	July 21, 2008
GREEN CARS SAVE MONEY AT THE PUMP There are 51,726 green vehicles registered in Nebraska. I don't mean that the vehicles are painted green. This "green" refers to clean burning flex fuel cars and light trucks that can use E85, which is a blend of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline. With gas prices so high, the owners of these green vehicles have to be the happiest drivers on the road. Last week I saw that one gas station in Omaha was selling E85 for $3.17 a gallon which was 82 cents a gallon cheaper than regular unleaded. Besides being less expensive, every time we use ethanol and other renewable fuels that are grown here at home, we contribute to America’s efforts to gain energy independence and we help our economy. Renewable Fuels Already Helping An analyst with Merrill Lynch estimates the price of gas would be about 15% higher if renewable fuels were not displacing billions of barrels of oil. Iowa State University not only confirmed that estimate but took it one step further saying that ethanol has reduced gasoline prices 29-40 cents per gallon. Nationwide, there are more than 6 million flex fuel vehicles on the road and automakers have pledged to double production to 2 million a year by 2010. This means we'll need more E85 pumps around the country to accommodate them. According to the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition there are 1,649 E85 pumps nationwide which is an increase of more than 400 since last year. In Nebraska, we have 45 E85 pumps. Installing More E85 Pumps I hope a bill I am co-sponsoring will lead to even more E85 pumps. It's called the E85 Education and Expansion Act and it requires the U.S. Department of Agriculture to establish a program of grants to majority farmer-owned ethanol producers to install E85 fuel infrastructure. This comes on top of a provision I pushed for in the 2005 Energy Policy Act which created tax credits of up to $30,000 for the installation of E85 pumps at service stations. When 2008 expansion is complete, the U.S. ethanol industry will supply more than 13 billion gallons of ethanol, representing nearly 10 percent of the nation's gasoline demand. By 2022 that amount will triple thanks to the Energy Bill which requires 36 billion gallons of renewable fuels to be produced annually. That’s enough to displace more than 11 billion barrels of crude oil. Keep Focusing on Energy Security The latest legislation which will lead to more E85 pumps, along with bills I have introduced to encourage the development of biogas and celluosic biofuels, is part of the framework we need to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and fossil fuels and create a diverse, sustainable energy policy for our nation. We need to do a number of things now to ease the price of fuel including drilling for more oil but we never want to lose sight of the goal which is energy independence and the role that renewable fuels will play. You can learn more about E85, flex fuel vehicles, cellulosic ethanol and much more by logging onto a Department of Energy website www.fueleconomy.gov. There’s even a section that will calculate the amount of money you'll save by using E85. ###