In six years,
the number of E85 Flexible Fuel Vehicles utilized in Kentucky has leaped
to more than 1800 due to the cooperative efforts of the Kentucky Corn
Growers Association, Kentucky Clean Fuels Coalition and several
environmentally conscious groups.
Craig Blanton, system director for the
Commonwealth’s Fleet Management division, said they currently own 1049
E85 vehicles, 23.8% of Fleet Management’s owned vehicles.
"I believe that percentage is higher than any
other state’s percentage in the county," he gloated. "We buy E85
vehicles every chance we get."
Fleet management operates Ford Tauruses and
Rangers, Chevy Silverados, S-10s, and Tahoes using nearly 4,000 gallons
of E85 fuel each month.
The University of Kentucky currently drives 22
percent of it’s total fleet miles on ethanol, a fact in which Bill
Peterson, director of management operations at the UK College of
Agriculture, is proud.
"It’s a fantastic fuel," says Peterson.
According to Peterson’s data, utilizing E85 cost
exactly the same as gasoline in 2003, even when factoring in a 15.7%
fuel economy loss with E85.
"This was the first time I was able to run the
numbers, and they were surprising to me," Peterson said. "But utilizing
E85 has been as seamless and as smooth as you would want it to be. We
have had 110 percent success."
Ethanol (E85)