Current and Interesting News - Florida Ethanol Fuel Distribution:
Copied from Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
View at www.doacs.state.fl.us/press/2008/03132008.html
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Department Press Release
03-13-2008
Terence McElroy
(850) 488-3022
mcelrot@doacs.state.fl.us
Bronson Unveils New Fuel Quality Standards For
Gasoline/Ethanol Blends
TALLAHASSEE – Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Charles H. Bronson today announced new fuel quality standards for gasoline blended with ethanol.
All motor fuels sold in Florida, including those containing ethanol, are required to meet fuel quality standards adopted by the department to ensure proper consumer vehicle performance. Motor fuels not meeting these standards are not permitted to be sold to consumers.
These changes specifically target selected fuel quality standards for gasoline blended with 10 percent or less ethanol. They take into account the effect ethanol has on the properties of gasoline when the two are mixed together.
Ethanol, an alternative and renewable fuel that can be made from a variety of agricultural crops and wastes as well as biomass, has the potential to alleviate the nation’s dependence on foreign oil and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It is a cleaner-burning fuel that can easily be mixed with gasoline in concentrations of 10 percent or less and used in virtually any modern day automobile.
Blending ethanol with gasoline is beneficial for the environment as it burns cleaner than gasoline, contributing to the reduction of greenhouse gas and other harmful tailpipe emissions.
Today, numerous gas stations in Florida are selling gasoline/ethanol blends and doing so with great success. However, capacity still exists for more ethanol blending to take place in Florida, which is expected to significantly increase as a result of these new fuel quality standards.
Florida ranks third in the nation in its use of motor fuel, consuming about 8.7 billion gallons of gasoline annually. As a result, the state has the potential to reduce gasoline consumption by 870 million gallons each year through the addition of a 10 percent ethanol mix in the gasoline supply chain.
Bronson believes that his department’s ‘Farm to Fuel’ initiative – an initiative in which state agricultural producers are being encouraged to raise crops and use biomass to produce renewable energy - will increase the amount of ethanol and biodiesel produced, blended and sold in Florida.
“As our ‘Farm to Fuel’ initiative moves forward, we expect to be among the leading producers of bio fuels in the country,” Bronson said.
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