The public can?t get to it, but state officials hope that a new E85 ethanol fuel station that opened last week in Baltimore with little fanfare will help promote Maryland?s commitment to alternative fuels for automobiles.
State officials want motorists to start thinking about using alternative fuels, said Michael Li, chief of staff at the Maryland Energy Administration.
“It?s basic economics,” Li said.
“When there is competition in the marketplace, that drives prices down. If we provide alternatives to gasoline such as bio-diesel and ethanol, it will stabilize prices in the long term and it mitigates price swings.”
E85 is a blend of fuel that contains 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline, said Lynne Hoot, executive director of the Maryland Grain Producers Association. Ethanol is made primarily by distilling grains, such as corn, wheat and barley, she said.
So-called Flexible Fuel Vehicles offered by several automakers can run on E85 and gasoline.
Only state vehicles and those registered by nonprofits can use the station, said Dave Humphrey, director of external affairs for the Maryland Department of General Services.
Maryland?s E85 ethanol station is located at the Baltimore State Office Center refueling station at 300 W Preston St.
Installation of the tank and the pump work was partially funded by a $330,000 U.S. Department of Energy grant and two grants totaling $50,000 from the Maryland Grain Producers Utilization Board, which is a Maryland farmer-backed group aimed at promoting grain usage.
Public E85 stations are located at the Quick Mart Citgo on West Street in Annapolis, a Chevron station in Laurel on Rte. 198 and an unmanned state station on Crabbs Branch Way in Rockville, Hoot said.
