Ethanol will get you free parking at Vikings games, sort of
Here's the problem with flex-fuel vehicles. Also known at E85-capable, flexfuel rides can burn straight gasoline or a gasoline/ethanol blend that is up to 85 percent ethanol. But, since they don't need ethanol, the reality is that most people fill up with petroleum pure and call it a day (in most of the U.S., ethanol isn't all that easy to find, although it's easier now than ever before). The latest numbers available from the U.S. government say that that about 300,000 E85-capable vehicles actually used E85 in America in 2006, out of the five million E85-capable vehicles on the road.This brings us to the Minnesota Vikings and a new deal the team has struck with the American Lung Association in Minnesota: free prime parking for ethanol cars. The thing is, even though the ALA wants to promote using E85 because it burns cleaner than gasoline, there's no way to prove what fuel is in the tank. So, even though the press release is titled "Use E85? The Minnesota Vikings and the American Lung Association in Minnesota Have a Free Parking Spot for You," what the team is really rewarding here is buying a flex-fuel vehicle, not actually using ethanol. Still, the first 25 people who pull up in a flex-fuel ride will get to use the premium parking spots near the Dome without paying the $40. More details after the jump.
[Source: American Lung Association in Minnesota]
PRESS RELEASE:
Use E85? The Minnesota Vikings and the American Lung Association in Minnesota Have a Free Parking Spot for You
MINNEAPOLIS, Oct. 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- If you are a Minnesota Vikings fan driving a flex-fuel vehicle (FFV) that can run on either E85 or gasoline, you may have a free parking space waiting for you in the Gold Lot at 401 4th Street South (across from the Star Tribune building) in downtown Minneapolis during Viking's home games. The free parking is open to the drivers of the first 25 flex fuel vehicles in the lot during the eight home games this season -- those arriving after the 25 free parking passes are gone will have to pay the usual $40 charge for the premium parking spot near the Dome.
However, you don't need to own a flex-fuel vehicle to win a trip for two to Soldier Field in Chicago to watch the Vikings play the Bears on Monday night, December 28th. Fans can register to win the "Vikings Road Trip, Fueled By E85" contest by going to http://www.vikings.com/fans/promotions/e85.html, where contest details will soon be posted. Radio ads during all Vikings regular season games will also provide contest information and updates. For more information on FFVs and E85, visit www.CleanAirChoice.org.
Volunteers from the American Lung Association in Minnesota will be at the two Gold Lot entrances to identify flex fuel vehicles and distribute the free passes. The American Lung Association in Minnesota supports the use of cleaner-burning E85, and has partnered with the Minnesota Vikings to raise awareness and use of the ethanol-based fuel, sold at more than 350 stations in Minnesota, including the nearby Bobby & Steve's Auto World at 1221 Washington Ave. S. The first 25 flex fuel drivers in the Gold Lot will receive coupons for 10 cents off per gallon of E85 at the downtown station.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Ghen 1:55PM (10/19/2009)
Strange that the ALA is making this deal. I wonder if this is just a pilot program to see if it garners any interest?
Reply
Bob from the ALAMN 2:55PM (10/19/2009)
Thanks, Sebastian, for the post on our news release. The Vikings graphic is a hoot.
This isn't new, Ghen, we have been involved with both E85 and biodiesel in Minnesota for more than a decade. When we first got involved, Minnesota had only seven E85 outlets. We have been busy since then.
As Sebastian knows (but some readers might not), Minnesota is not like the rest of the nation when it comes to E85 and flex fuel vehicles. We have more than 360 E85 outlets all across the state (roughly 15% of Minnesota's fuel stations sell E85), more than any other state. Our surveys show that there is a high awareness of E85 among Minnesotans, who use more biofuels per capta than any other drivers in America. In fact, it is widely thought that a close Governor's race was tipped when a Lt. Governor candidate could not identify what E85 was in a television interview.
No, I can't say with absolute certainty that every vehicle parking at the Gold Lot during home games is burning E85 when they come in. However, we give them a packet of information on the cleaner-burning fuel, and discount coupons to an E85 outlet downtown that's just a couple blocks away from the Metrodome.
E85 is averaging at 40 cents cheaper than regular unleaded at the metro area Holiday Stationstores that sell E85. That more than makes up for the reduced MPGs on E85, compared to regular unleaded.
Robert Moffitt
Communications Director
Clean Fuel & Vehicle Technology
American Lung Association in Minnesota
www.CleanAirChoice.org
Reply
paulwesterberg 3:47PM (10/19/2009)
E85 should be cheaper than gas, you get 30% worse mileage and the government provides a subsidy of 51 cents for every gallon of ethanol.
The highest mileage e85 vehicle gets only 18mpg:
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/compx2008f.jsp
In theory I like the ideal and promise of ethanol, but using corn as the feedstock required a lot of fertilizer and pesticides and the yield per acre is not very good. Brazil does a decent job with sugar cane, and perhaps we could make sorghum, cellulose or algae ethanol worthwhile, but then you are still putting a lot of time and energy into creating a hydrocarbon fuel to be burned in an ice where 70% of the energy will be wasted as heat.
Lets help out the farmers by paying them a yearly stipend in exchange for putting up wind turbines, and drive electric cars with great well to wheel efficiency that make good use of renewable energy.
paulwesterberg 3:52PM (10/19/2009)
This "free parking for e85 vehicles" promotion is like miniaturized version of the national ethanol program. It promotes waste and inefficiency by giving some a free ride while others pay the expense while meaningful progress is limited.
Ghen 4:56PM (10/19/2009)
So Bob, when electric vehicles start rolling into America in 3 years will your programs be compatible? Thinking about it now will make the transition that much easier and will make the ALA look very hip for a few years ;)
Bob from the ALAMN 4:28PM (10/19/2009)
When electric vehicles become practical, affordable and available, Paul, I'll be the among the first to buy one. As Sabastian noted, there are already millions of FFVs on the road today -- they just need the cleaner-buring E85 they were designed to use. We can create that infrastructure -- Minnesota proved it was possible.
Non-food feedstocks (like cellulose) are not being used to make ethanol on a commercial basis because it just isn't economicaly practical (the process is much more complex and expensive). Perhaps new projects like Costkata's new Lighthouse plant will change that. Time will tell.
In the meantime, there are some promising signs of things to come, like the Chevy Volt, a plug-in hybrid that is also an FFV. Win win, and powered by wind?
Oh, I agree that wind energy could use more funding, but it doesn't have to be at the expense of other greener technologies like biofuels. BTW: We do wind in Minnesota, too--we are in the top 5 states for wind-generated electricity. We practice what we preach: our building is on the Excel Energy Windsource program.
Reply
Ghen 5:02PM (10/19/2009)
Be careful here, when you say biofuels I mostly think Big Oil trying to control the green movement and keep their profits high while maintaining the status quo as much as possible. Moving to wind/solar power plants and an EV charged at the home is twofold: 1) get rid of Big Oil 2) save the environment. (and lungs) You choose the order of importance if you want.
So if putting money into wind is at the expense of biofuels, I say do it! Just think of the environmental breakthroughs including clean air we could have with clean energy powering clean vehicles and no companies in the middle who peddle the next burnable fuel since everything that burns has at least some exhaust.
Thunderbuck 3:41AM (10/20/2009)
It bugs me when people try to pit one alternative against another.
I agree, Bob. Ethanol is already here. It's practical, and it works. Brazil proves that it's totally possible to move to an Ethanol infrastructure, and you guys are clearly working at it in MN.
We have a massive infrastructure built on the ICE, as well as over a century of development. To turn our backs on that is to throw away tens of billions of dollars of investment out the window.
I'm not "against" wind; it's already providing a good chunk of the load in Europe, and I'm sure we'll see it grow more here, but with current technology there's no way wind can even replace our current load, never mind the potential increased demand of a few million EVs and plug-in hybrids.
I DO think we need to find better crops for Ethanol production, though. Corn takes too many inputs and is too important as a food crop.
Ghen 3:44PM (10/20/2009)
Wind power in the Dakotas/other states, offshore wind, solar, and nuclear everywhere else can provide all the electricity we need. And the nuclear plants are pretty much optional with hardcore investments in pure renewables. Anything else to me is a worthless investment in the status quo of liquid fuels and only leads to muddle the landscape with disparate and incompatible methods of providing power.
While E85 might be better than petroleum and an easy sell to consumers R&D and infrastructure investments I think would be better spent researching battery technology and charging systems. The people spending the most money though are the Big Oil corporations who want to continue to have a product to sell. So they're over-charging for petroleum products -and- ethanol based products to feed that need and laugh all the way to the bank with their fat executive bonuses for tricking half the green scene into thinking that E85 and to a (much much) lesser extent hydrogen are viable for long term solutions.
So while I absolutely applaud Bob and the ALA for taking a step, my first comment in this thread remains strong in that I hope he plans on moving the project and publicity to electricity chargers at football games or something similar for electric vehicles when they hit the road in mass numbers. If publicity though for the ALA wasn't at stake though, I would have suggested taking all the E85 marketing dollars and spending them towards wind power plants. It wouldn't get as much publicity, but still fits in the vein of clean air / wind being easily related in marketing terms.
Serge 4:39PM (10/19/2009)
I wonder why flex-fuel discussions do not mention methanol. It is produced from non-food feedstocks and abundant (for now) domestic natural gas.
Reply
Bob from the ALAMN 4:54PM (10/19/2009)
You might as well ask why VHS beat Beta in the videotape wars, Serge. It's a moot point now, we have moved on to DVDs and downloads.
The thing is, Serge, a lot of people DISCUSS alternative fuels and vehicles -- very few roll up their sleves and do something about it. I'm proud to work for an organization that is doing just that.
Reply