ACE unveils guide on E15, flex fuels for retailers

The American Coalition for Ethanol is releasing a new publication that will help answer some of the most frequently asked questions by retailers about E15, E85 and flex fuels.

ACE describes the E15 and Flex Fuel Retailer Roadmap, as a reference guide for fuel marketers, retailers and equipment companies, with information to help them understand E15 and flex fuels, while also identifying routes station owners can take if they want to sell higher blends says, ACE Senior Vice President Ron Lamberty.

“There was a time when service stations had a rack full of roadmaps showing the main highways and roads in the state, with more detailed maps of the state’s bigger cities. Journeys were planned by looking for the place you wanted to go, and considering all of the routes that could get you there,” explained Lamberty. “The E15 and Flex Fuel Retailer Roadmap is like those maps. It’s not a GPS system providing turn-by-turn instructions—because every retail station owner’s journey is different.”

The guide addresses frequently asked questions about flex fuels, provides market statistics for each state for E15 and flex fuels and looks at the comparison between ethanol blends and premium and diesel.  “We think retailers will be interested in the ’back-of-the-napkin’ E15 and flex fuel ‘math’ included in the Roadmap,” Lamberty said. “We’ve taken the average volume station for each state and show examples of the potential volume and profit a retailer could expect if they perform as well as an average high blend retailer, or a top performing E15 and flex fuel retailer. Prospective retailers need to understand the blending economics, octane, and RIN values of these blends, and current retailers have profited from the fuels but even more from increased customer counts and inside sales.”

Lamberty says copies of the Roadmap will be distributed to fuel marketers during events and mailings. He says the guide is also online and can be accessed by clicking this link.