Perry-based Davis Oil Company has received two E85 retail infrastructure grants totaling $34,683. The first is for $17,812 and for the company’s project at 1-75 and Ga. 49 in Byron. The second is for $16,871 and for the project at 1-75 and Ga. 215 in Vienna.
Both, according to a release, are part of Gov. Sonny Perdue’s vision for sustainable economic development, and were awarded by the Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority. Fuel stations receiving grants from GEFA totaled 21 with the total amount awarded being $282,968. E85 is a mixture of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline and can be used in flex fuel vehicles.
“The E85 grant program will help expand the availability of E85 fuel across the state of Georgia, said GEFA Executive Director Chris Clark. “When these projects are complete, E85 will be available to thousands of Georgians with flex fuel vehicles who didn’t previously have a station offering E85 near where they live and work.”
Legislation creating the E85 grant program (SB157) was sponsored by State Sen. Ross Tolleson and was signed by Perdue in May 2007.
“With the rising number of flex fuel vehicles on the road, we need a network of gas stations that provide E85 to meet the increased demand for this cleaner burning fuel,” said Tolleson. “In addition to reducing our dependence on foreign oil, the ethanol in E85 can be produced right here in Georgia, providing an economic stimulus to rural areas of our state.”
The ethanol in E85 can be produced in Georgia from renewable resources such as forestry and agricultural products. Flex fuel vehicles are capable of operating on E85, standard gasoline, or any mixture of both. There are approximately 6 million flex fuel vehicles in the U.S. today, and most flex fuel vehicles are offered to consumers at the same price as traditional gasoline- only models.
A total of $400,000 was available for the E85 grant program. GEFA, according to the release, will use the remaining $117,032 in grant funds for future projects. The application process will be reopened later this spring on a rolling basis, with a particular focus on areas of the state that are currently underserved and were not represented in the first round of applications.
