E-85 Ethanol fuel

E-85 (Ethanol-Based) Fuel
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Popping Higher
When adjusted for its lower energy content,
the ethanol-based fuel E85’S price has
outpaced the record run in gasoline.

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Whenever a news outlet runs screaming headlines about a new record in retail gasoline prices, it’s usually citing prices from the driving club AAA’s daily Fuel Gauge Report. But with less fanfare, AAA’s data have also been offering hints about the cost effectiveness of gasoline’s would-be substitute, ethanol.

AAA, with help from the Oil Price Information Service, has been following U.S. ethanol prices alongside gasoline for a little more than six months. Each day, the club posts not just the straightforward per-gallon price of so-called E85, the high-ethanol blend of fuel touted by fans as a potential substitute for gasoline, but also an adjusted E85 price to reflect how much a driver would have to spend on the corn-based fuel to drive the same number of miles as he or she would using conventional gasoline. The adjustment reflects a little-discussed quirk of chemistry: There’s less energy packed into one gallon of E85 than a gallon of gas.

While regular-grade gasoline hit a record $3.577 a gallon on average nationwide Friday, the adjusted price of E85 was even higher, at $3.855 a gallon. In fact, over the course of time that AAA has been tracking adjusted E85 prices, they’ve never fallen below the daily price of regular gasoline.

Since early October, adjusted E85′s price spread over regular gasoline has varied widely, between 4% and 12%, suggesting there’s at least some potential for improvement. However, Trilby Lundberg, publisher of the Lundberg Survey newsletter, which once studied the viability of E85, says it’s “extremely unlikely” that the adjusted E85 price can ever fully close the gap with retail gasoline. (To receive a free copy of the E85 study by email, click here. Free registration required.)

“Ethanol is just not competitive with fossil fuels,” says Ms. Lundberg, whose weekly measures of retail gasoline prices are also closely followed by reporters and energy-industry insiders.

The current mark-up for the adjusted E85 prices over gasoline is around 8%, slightly above the average over the period that AAA has tracked. If that spread persists as E85 gains widespread use in America’s cars, rather than the niche of vehicles now equipped for the fuel, the hidden costs for drivers would be akin to upgrading in the current gasoline-oriented world from regular to mid-grade. When was the last time you did that?

Ohio Map

Central Ohio

Retail Station	Street Address	Hours
Kroger	1177 Polaris Pkwy Columbus, OH 43240	6am - 11pm daily
Giant Eagle Get Go	2845 N. High Street Columbus, OH 43202	6am - 11pm daily
Giant Eagle Get Go	5465 New Albany Rd. West New Albany, Ohio 43054	6am - 11pm daily
K&W Sunoco	4400 Coonpath Road N.W. Lancaster, Ohio 43112	24hrs daily (automated at night)
Kroger	7625 Sawmill Rd. Dublin, Ohio 43016	6am - 11pm daily
Kroger	2525 Hilliard Rome Road Hilliard, Ohio 43026	Call for hours
Kroger	5965 Hoover Road Grove City, Ohio 43123	Call for hours
Kroger	1045 Hill Road Pickerington Ohio 43147	Call for hours
Kroger	1585 Georgesville Square Drive Columbus, Ohio 43228	Call for hours
Kroger	3637 South High Street Columbus, Ohio 43207	6am - 11pm daily
Kroger	7000 East Broad St. Columbus, Ohio 43213	6am - 11pm daily
Sunoco	6027 State Rd. 95 (I-71, exit 151) Mt. Gilead, Ohio 43338	6am - 10pm
Circleville Oil Co. (Pacific Pride)	310 West Mound Street Circleville, Ohio 43113	7am- 4pm M-F; 7 am- 12am Sat
Kroger	175 Lancaster Pike Circleville, Ohio 43113	Call for hours
Meijer	2153 Marion-Mt Gilead Rd Marion, Ohio 43302	Call for hours
Meijer	5050 N Hamilton Rd Columbus, Ohio 43230	Call for hours
Meijer	8870 Columbus Pike (US23) Lewis Center, Ohio 43035	Call for hours

Southwest Ohio

Retail Station	Street Address	Hours
Kroger	3760 Paxton Ave Cincinnati, Ohio 45209	Call for hours
Kroger	5830 Harrison Ave Dent, Ohio 45248	Call for hours
Kroger	8685 Winton Rd Cincinnati, Ohio 45231	Call for hours
Kroger	1001 Cherry St Blanchester, Ohio 45107	Call for hours
Kroger	6388 Branch Hill-Guinea Pike Loveland, Ohio 45140	Call for hours
Kroger	8421 Winton Rd. Cincinnati, Ohio 45231	Call for hours
Mariemont Marathon	7436 Wooster Pike Cincinnati, Ohio 45227	Mon-Thurs 5am - 11 pm Fri 5am - MID Sat 6am - MID Sun 7am - 10 pm
Gas America	2631 W Alex Bell Rd Dayton, Ohio 45459	24 hours/day
Champaign Landmark	304 Bloomfield Ave. Urbana, Ohio 43078	24hrs daily (automated at night)
Kroger	4506 Brandt Pike Huber Heights, Ohio 45424	Call for hours
Kroger	751 W. Market St. Troy, Ohio 45373	Call for hours
Kroger	2728 E. Main St. Springfield, Ohio 45503	Call for hours
Meijer	3651 Towne Blvd Franklin, Ohio 45005	Call for hours
Meijer	9200 N Main Dayton, Ohio 45415	Call for hours
Speedway	62 E Main St Enon, Ohio 45323	Call for hours
Meijer	3822 Colonel Glenn Hwy Fairborn, Ohio 45324	Opening soon

Northwest Ohio

Retail Station	Street Address	Hours
Kroger	1240 Park Avenue West Mansfield, Ohio 44906	Call for hours
Kroger	4925 Jackman Rd Toledo, Ohio 43613	Call for hours
Kroger	4633 Suder Ave. Toledo, Ohio 43611	Call for hours
Kroger	27386 Carronade Dr Perrysburg, Ohio 43551	Call for hours
CircleK	6008 Secor Road Toledo, Ohio 43613	Call for hours
Schild's IGA	171 Milan Ave Norwalk, Ohio 44857	Call for hours
Sunoco	1303 N. Main St. Marion, Ohio 43302	6am - 10pm
Meijer	2153 Marion - Mt. Gilead Rd Marion, Ohio 43302	Call for hours
CircleK	1444 West Alexis Road Toledo, Ohio 43612	5am-12am M-F; 6am-12am Sat-Sun
Antwerp Marathon	304 West River Street Antwerp, Ohio 45813	5am-12midnight M-F; Call for weekend hours
St. Mary's Marathon	202 West South Street St. Mary's, Ohio 45885	6am-10pm Everyday
Miller's Fuel	14 Whitaker Way Montpelier, Ohio 43543	24 hours/day (automated evenings)
Sunrise Fuel Plus	211 Cleveland Rd. Norwalk, Ohio 44857	24 hours/day (automated evenings)
Kroger	7545 Sylvania Ave. Sylvania, Ohio 43560	Call for hours
Energy Plus 24	12818 E. Gypsy Lane Bowling Green, Ohio 43402	24 hours/day (automated evenings)
In & Out Mart	5566 Alexis Rd. Sylvania, Ohio 43560	7am-11pm Mon-Sat; 8am-11pm Sun
Meijer	2111 E Wooster St Bowling Green, Ohio 43402	Call for hours
Meijer	2200 Tiffin Avenue Findlay, Ohio 45840	Call for hours
Meijer	7240 W. Central Ave. Toledo, Ohio 43617	Call for hours

North East Ohio

Retail Station	Street Address	Hours
Marathon Mart	1058 W. Old Lincoln Highway Wooster, Ohio 44691
Full Circle Fuels	141 S. Main St. Oberlin, Ohio 44074	9am - 5pm M-F
Frank's Sunoco	5391 State Road Parma, Ohio 44134
Rocky's Gas	560 Norton Avenue Barberton, Ohio 44203	Call for hours

South East Ohio

Currently, there are no E85 refueling stations in this region of the state. If you are interested in opening a station, please contact Clean Fuels Ohio at or e-mail us at info@cleanfuelsohio.org.

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If you are interested in out-of-state locations, you may consult theAlternative Fuel Station Locator maintained by the DOE's Alternative Fuel Data Center.