E85 Awareness Campaign Begins in Nebraska

Goal is to make flexible fuel vehicle owners aware of the product's benefits.

Compiled by staff

Published: Apr 30, 2010

The National Flexible Fuel Vehicle Awareness Campaign has begun a statewide education effort to alert drivers to new E85 road signs being installed across Nebraska.

The program is designed to encourage FFV owners to use higher ethanol blends, such as E85, which have been proven to be easier on the environment than conventional gasoline.

The National FFV Awareness Campaign is a joint project of the Clean Fuels Foundation, the Governors' Biofuels Coalition, the Nebraska Ethanol Board and a wide range of industry and private interests dedicated to utilizing the 8 million flexible fuel vehicles on the road today, says Todd Sneller, administrator of the Nebraska Ethanol Board. "FFVs can operate on blends of ethanol up to 85% and represent a significant opportunity for the U.S. to reduce its dependence on imported oil, create domestic jobs, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions," he says.

Sneller adds, "High ethanol blends like E85 can open up new markets for ethanol but we need to make sure drivers know they can use these fuels and where they can purchase them."

Several national surveys indicate that as many as 90% of the owners of FFVs either are unaware their vehicles have this capability or have never used ethanol blends. "The FFV campaign is about consumer awareness and driver education. "We are going to begin with the drivers of the 87,000 FFVs on the roads of Nebraska immediately."

The new state road signs will create brand recognition that will allow drivers to identify gas stations that have E85 available, including blender pumps that can dispense different levels of gasoline-ethanol blends. In addition to the signs, the Nebraska program will include distribution of FFV and E85 information at rest areas along Interstate 80 in Nebraska, including cards with the E85 sign branding, directing FFV owners to a list of E85 locations on the Nebraska Ethanol Board Web site, at www.ne-ethanol.org.

The campaign will include an ongoing series of projects and events designed to support refueling infrastructure and ethanol demand.

The National FFV Awareness Campaign is also promoting the use of higher ethanol blends in Florida and other states. The campaign is coordinating with ethanol producers, retail fuel providers, automobile dealers, agriculture and environmental groups, and others to take advantage of the opportunity that FFVs can play in helping to reduce petroleum use.