BY MARTHA BRANNIGAN
mbrannigan@MiamiHerald.com
South Florida just got a bit greener.

On Thursday, the U-Gas station at 210 NW 79th Ave. in Miami-Dade County, near the Mall of the Americas, will begin selling E85 fuel for flex fuel vehicles, making it the first South Florida service station to offer E85 ethanol to the public.

E85 is a mixture of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline that can be used in cars and trucks specially designed to run on the renewable fuel.

Until recently, E85 has been available predominantly in the Midwest, which produces the corn it's typically made from in the United States. But as supplies have grown, the fuel is beginning to reach the Northeast and Southeast in larger quantities.

''Ethanol is the future. It's renewable energy and it's the correct thing to do,'' said Willie Urbieta, whose family-owned company, Urbieta Oil Co., operates the U Gas station that will debut the E85 fuel Thursday.

Urbieta said it's costing his company roughly $50,000 to retrofit the U Gas station to sell E85 fuel, including changing the hoses, nozzle, valves and meters.

He expects to make the E85 fuel available in six to 12 South Floria stations by the end of 2008, choosing locations near major thoroughfares like Interstate 95 and those in ZIP codes where residents have a significant number of flex vehicles.

''We're a small family-owned business, and we're very aggressive. We see the future is renewable energy,'' Urbieta said. ``And it's politically correct not to give money to those unfriendly governments.''

U Gas will be offering the E85 at a special price of 85 cents a gallon from 7 to 9 a.m. Thursday and Friday. E85 normally fetches about $2.55 a gallon.

The launch of E85 at the independent station was coordinated with an E85 forum Wednesday at Florida International University, where a panel of experts stressed the need for the United States to adopt ethanol and other alternative fuels in the face of dwindling fossil fuel supplies and geopolitical uncertainties.

Mary Beth Stanek, director of environment and energy at General Motors, who joined the panel of experts at the FIU forum, said the arrival of E85 in South Florida marks an important beginning for the region.

GM, which has 14 vehicles that run on E85 fuel in its 2007 lineup, is providing marketing assistance to U Gas and other service stations around the country to encourage the foray into E85. Stanek said about 11,317 GM flex-fuel vehicles are located in the South Florida area.

Nobody is predicting that ethanol will be a magic bullet that can quickly supplant gasoline in the near- or midterm.

Dr. George Philippidis, director of the Center for Energy and Technology for the Americas at FIU's Applied Research Center, pointed out at the forum Wednesday that if all the corn in the United States were to be turned into ethanol, it would replace only 12 percent of the U.S. gasoline currently used.

September 13, 2007
Contact: Michelle Kautz
Phone: (573) 635-8445
Email: mkautz@e85fuel.com

First E85 Station Opens in Miami

CleanFUEL Distribution will be providing the fuel for a grand opening event sponsored by GM and U-Gas today for the first E85 retail station in Miami. The fuel will sell for 85 cents per gallon.

Miami is one of seven stops on the E85 Days of Summer tour that runs through the end of this month. The Miami stop will coincide with the opening of South Florida’s first public E85 ethanol pump located at U-Gas, 210 Northwest 79th Avenue, in Miami.

To celebrate the opening, GM and U-Gas will sell E85 ethanol for 85 cents per gallon from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. on Thursday, September 13 and Friday, September 14. E85 ethanol regularly sells for about $2.55 a gallon.

Additionally, the first 75 customers driving a GM FlexFuel E85-capable vehicle will receive a $20 U-Gas refueling card. Drivers of FlexFuel vehicles also will have the opportunity to have a yellow gas cap installed on their vehicle at no charge as a reminder that their vehicles are E85 capable. Stickers inside the fuel door and owner’s manuals also identify whether a vehicle has flex-fuel capability.

Experts from GM and CleanFUEL Distribution will be on hand at the pump promotion to answer questions. A day earlier, on September 12, GM is teaming with Florida International University for a “Preparing for the Arrival of E85 in South Florida” forum to address issues surrounding petroleum-based fuel and alternatives.

“At GM, we believe ethanol has by far the greatest potential of anything we can do over the next decade to actually reduce U.S. oil consumption, reduce oil imports and reduce carbon gas emissions,” said Elizabeth A. Lowery, GM vice president, Environment, Energy and Safety Policy. “That’s why GM is committed to building vehicles that can run on E85 ethanol and has more than 2.5 million E85 FlexFuel vehicles on the road today, with plans to double production by the end of the decade.”

“We are excited to see E85 come to Miami,” said Executive Director of the NEVC, Phil Lampert. “We commend our members General Motors and CleanFUEL distribution for their hard work in establishing this new site.”

There are currently 13 E85 fueling facilities in the state of Florida, only three opened to the public. For a complete listing, visit www.E85Refueling.com.