Gov. Heineman hails plethora of Nebraska pumps offering ethanol blends

Source: By Martha Stoddard / World-Herald Bureau • Posted: Monday, October 20, 2014

  • JAMES R. BURNETT/THE WORLD-HERALD

    The Kum & Go near 143rd and Q Streets in Omaha has several E85 pumps.

 LINCOLN — Gov. Dave Heineman on Friday hailed the growing number of Nebraska fuel pumps offering gasoline-fuel blends of up to 85 percent ethanol.

The blend, called E85, is available now at 86 stations in 55 communities across the state, up from only 15 in 2005, he said.

Meanwhile, the number of vehicles capable of using the higher ethanol fuel is growing as well. There are nearly 180,000 flex fuel vehicles on the road in Nebraska, the governor said. About one in 10 drivers owns a flex-fuel vehicle.

But Todd Sneller, executive director of the Nebraska Ethanol Board, said many drivers do not realize they have vehicles that can use higher-blend fuels.

A list of such vehicles is available on the board’s website, http://www.ne-ethanol.org/Drivers also can look for a flex-fuel logo or a yellow gas cap on their vehicle.

The governor said that drivers who fill up with ethanol can save money, reduce reliance on foreign oil and support local corn growers.

Drivers can download free apps to their smart phones to help them find stations offering higher-blend ethanol. Flex Fuel Station Locator and Flex Finder are among the options available.

Nebraska is the nation’s second-largest ethanol producer, behind Iowa, and the third-largest producer of its main ingredient, corn.

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