Big Oil Letting Go of Retail Outlets

Major petroleum refiners have been under the gun recently over the sale of company-owned gasoline stations, The Wall Street Journal reports. Some retailers have filed complaints with companies like BP, ExxonMobil and Royal Dutch Shell because Big Oil has been shedding retail outlets.

The refiners say the properties are being sold, usually to fuel distributors, because the stations are a low-profit business. An ExxonMobil spokesman pointed out that any ownership changes should be "transparent" to its customers, who can still fill up with "gas at Exxon and Mobil-branded stations across the U.S."

However, that's not comforting for many small-business retailers who are concerned about staying in business, noted the Journal. With a refiner-owned or leased station, dealers received allowances and fuel price rebates. But a distributor-owner might charge a station more for fuel, putting the retailer in a bind because of its contract to sell only a certain brand of fuel.

Already, BP has sold more than 550 stations in New York, New Jersey, California and Arizona. Recently, 20 New Jersey BP dealers filed a lawsuit to stop the oil company from severing its business arrangement.

Single retailers say it can be difficult to purchase an individual station because refiners find "there are less headaches" in working with a company interested in purchasing a group of stations, Ralph Bombardiere, executive director of the New York State Association of Service Stations and Repair Shops, told the newspaper.

This past summer, New Jersey passed legislation that would let retailers have "first right of refusal" when their stations were for sale by a Big Oil company.

MSDS Sheets for Ethanol Blends

In order to ensure chemical safety in the workplace, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration requires that information be available to employees and others regarding the identities and hazards of all chemicals stored and used in a workplace. OSHA's Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) requires the development and dissemination of such information in the form of a Material Data Safety Sheet (MSDS). Growth Energy and our partners have recently developed a Material Safety Data Sheet for blends of 20 percent ethanol (E20) and 30% ethanol (E30). A MSDS sheet is also available for E85. It is important that each retailer offering such blends print copies of this information and display this in a prominent location available to employees, should you offer these blends. Click here to view the sheets.

Please, contact the Growth Energy Market Development Team at 877-485-8595 or at marketdevelopment@growthenergy.org should you have any questions.

Missouri Opens First Blender Pump

-Source: Missouri Corn Growers Assn., Press Release

"By partnering with Missouri Corn and the Missouri Department of Agriculture, we are offering our consumers more choices at the pump," said Dave Baker, Warrenton Oil Company vice president of sales. "We look forward to growing this new market that supports a homegrown fuel and Missouri jobs."

According to the Missouri Corn Growers Association, these blender pumps are part of a pilot program with the Missouri Department of Agriculture Division of Weights and Measures. "This is a great opportunity to utilize a product grown and refined in Missouri," said Gary Clark, Missouri Corn Merchandising Council senior director of market development. "We are looking forward to the continued expansion of blender pump locations across the state. This will allow Missourians to experience the benefits of mid-level ethanol blends and support a product that is helping reduce our dependence on foreign oil."

There are currently 114 E85 locations, including this blender pump station, in the state of Missouri. For a complete, up to date listing of E85 and blender pump stations, go to www.E85Refueling.com.

Blender Pump Tax Fix Sought

In letters to the chairmen and ranking members of both the Senate Finance and House Ways and Means committees, Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis said the Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property Credit should allow fuel vendors to recapture up to $50,000 or 50%, of the total cost of installing alternative fuel dispensing systems such as ethanol blender pumps.

Buis says Growth Energy's position is that a simple technical correction would go a long way to clarifying the intent of Congress, and clear the way so that retailers can have the tax credits they've been promised to help build out the infrastructure we need to delivery alternative fuels like ethanol.

You can find a copy of the final letter and the 152 groups that offered by clicking here.

States Offer Additional Infrastructure Tax Credits

In addition to the 50% up to $50,000 infrastructure tax credit that the Federal Government gives retailers for installing E85 pumps, many states offer incentives. Take a look at a few of the states that offer incentives for selling ethanol blended fuels. For a complete listing of state incentives, click here.

Kansas
The state offers an income tax credit for alternative fueling stations placed into service after January 1, 2009. The tax credit, worth up to 40% of the total costs, may not exceed $100,000.

Missouri
An income tax credit is available for the costs of constructing a qualified alternative fuel vehicle fueling station. The tax credit may not exceed the lesser of $20,000 or 20% of the costs directly associated with the purchase and installation of any alternative fuel storage and dispensing equipment.

Louisiana
The state offers an income tax credit worth 50% of the cost of constructing an alternative fueling station.

For questions regarding infrastructure tax credits, contact the Growth Energy Market Development team at 1-877-485-8595 or at marketdevelopment@growthenergy.org.

E85 Makes Inroads on Cost and Availability

-Source: AutoWeek, Dec. 23, 2009

Three years ago, we embarked on a Midwest road trip in search of what was then the Holy Grail of fuel: E85. Our findings weren't too positive — there were far more E85-compatible vehicles on the road in 2006 (5 million) than there were E85 pumps to fuel them (about 700 out of some 200,000 fuel stations nationwide). In addition, those burning the mix of 15 percent gasoline and 85 percent ethanol were paying a pretty penny for their earth-friendly ways, losing about 15 percent in fuel economy while often paying the same price as regular unleaded.

Experts assured us it was only a matter of time before E85 became more available, and at more reasonable prices. So here we are, in 2009, wondering whether those predictions have come true.

The answer? Yes, sort of.

While the number of E85 outlets nationwide has grown to 2,085, the Midwest remains home to more than half of those pumps. Minnesota alone has 361 of the E85 pumps, outstripping the total number of E85 pumps on the entire West Coast (62) and the East Coast (248) combined.

The test vehicle for our latest E85 drive was a 2010 Ford Expedition EL, one of about 50 E85-compatible 2010 models now sold in the United States. More are on the way. Ford, for instance, will dramatically expand its number of ethanol burners when it launches E85-compatible EcoBoost turbocharged engines in 2011.

After establishing the 5.4-liter V8-powered Expedition's fuel mileage on a tank of regular unleaded (14.7 mpg), we pumped our first tankful of E85, priced at $2.29 per gallon (vs. $2.69 for unleaded) at a freeway-friendly station in Janesville, Wis. In the first few miles after filling up, it was interesting to watch the vehicle's onboard trip computer recalculate our estimated "distance to empty" drastically downward from 512 miles to 402 miles (or about 12.2 mpg) after about 10 miles of E85-fueled driving. Our second tank of E85, in Minneapolis, was just $2.19 per gallon (vs. $2.69 for unleaded).

Overall, E85 use cut our fuel economy to 12.3 mpg — a reduction of 16.3 percent versus unleaded (though with no noticeable effect on vehicle power or performance). But thanks to significant E85 cost savings, our loss of fuel economy was offset by a commensurate 16.7 percent reduction in fuel cost.

The bottom line: E85 is starting to makes sense — and cents — for drivers who want to burn it.

Dresser Wayne Promotes Blender Pumps

-Source: post on Domesticfuel.com by Joanna Schroeder, Nov. 3, 2009

"There is significant demand for blender pumps. That's what we do best. We've been doing it for years," said Negley. Actually, the company sold its first mechanical blender back in the mid-50s. Today, they have just debuted their new Eco-fuels blender series.

This series has the latest innovation in hydraulic technology that allows retailers to sell blended products from two hoses at the same fueling point. This allows for separation (which many states have legislated) of low and high-blend ethanol or biodiesel. The dispenser is customizable in 1 percent increments allowing retailers to sell the most popular blends of fuels, such as E30.

Another unique feature of the Eco-fuel series is that the dispensers have not only been designed for what fuels we have today, but the fuels we may have in the future. Negley noted that oil companies are working on fuels that will meet the CARB and RFS2 requirements. In addition, Dresser Wayne has products designed to dispense propane in Europe and is now in the process of developing a compressed natural gas (CNG) product.

You can listen to the full interview with Scott where he also discusses where UL is in the certification process and how retailers have been affected.

Attention Retailers! Become a Member of our Team

Clearly, there are changes afoot that will make operating any business more complicated, and the fuel industry is on the frontline of these changes. Savvy fuel retailers are preparing for the future now, in part by incorporating alternative fuels into their offerings.

Uncertain where to begin? The best starting point is to become a member of Growth Energy Market Development team. By becoming a member, you join an informed and involved group of ethanol producers and alternative fuel experts who can help you make the right decisions to ensure your company's long-term future.

Growth Energy members receive assistance with their own alternative fuel efforts, such as installing ethanol blender pumps. Members get complete access to ethanol retailer kits, marketing materials and consumer information brochures. They also are invited to participate in members-only webinars, and they are provided access to exclusive updates and industry information through Growth Energy's members-only intranet site.

Sign up today for your membership by clicking here. For questions, call our team at 1-877-485-8595 or email marketdevelopment@growthenergy.org.

Member Spotlight: Frank's Sunoco

Frank's Sunoco has recently joined as a member of Growth Energy Market Development team. The fueling station and food mart is located at 5391 State Road in Parma, Ohio. One of the first leaders in the Biofuels movement, Frank's Sunoco offers E85, B20, regular and unleaded gasoline.

Frank's Sunoco first opened in 1952, operated by Frank Roalofs until 1960 when it became a family business and his son Matthew joined him. Matthew took over the business in 1980 and in the 90's converted the store into a Food Mart.

As gas priced rocketed Matthew wanted a competitive advantage that would set him away from his competitors. "I chose E85 because it burns and runs cleaner, it's good for the environment and it's going to be the future."

According to Matthew, the biggest challenge he finds as a retailer is buying at the right price so that he may sell at the right price.

Matthew has taken advantage of resources from Growth Energy, such as brochures, labels, etc. He also put together a consumer website; as well as advertised a grand opening on a local radio station that attracted many from the suburbs.

Growth Energy appreciates the membership support provided by Frank Sunoco and we applaud them for their very proactive efforts to advance high level blends of ethanol.

To find a complete listing of E85 stations in Ohio and across the nation, visit our comprehensive and accurate fueling station data base at: www.E85Refueling.com.

New E85 and Blender Pump Stations

As of this publication, there are 2,096 E85 fueling stations across the U.S. including 132 blender pumps. Since the last publication of this newsletter, 171 stations have been added across the U.S. For a complete listing of these stations, go to www.E85Refueling.com.

Letters to Growth Energy

This section will highlight emails and letters Growth Energy has recently received. Many of the comments or suggestions we receive are of interest to a wider audience and we would like to share them with our readers. Comments included in Letters to Growth Energy do not necessarily reflect the views of the organization.Please send your comments and letters tomarketdevelopment@growthenergy.org.