A leading consumer publication has given a failing grade to E85 ethanol.
Consumer Reports, which bills itself as one of the most trusted sources of information on consumer products, said people who switch from regular gasoline to E85 ethanol can expect poorer fuel economy.
“CR determined that E85 will cost consumers more money than gasoline,” said the magazine in its October 2006 issue.
Testers ran fuel economy checks on a 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe flexible-fuel vehicle, a truck designed to run on either gasoline or E85, which is a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline.
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They found there was a 27 percent fuel economy penalty associated with the alternative fuel, taking the Tahoe from an already low 5.95 kilometres per litre to 4.25 km per litre.
“You could expect a similar decrease in gas mileage in any current flexible-fuel vehicle. That’s because ethanol has a lower energy content than gasoline: 75,670 British thermal units per gallon instead of 115,400 for gasoline … so you have to burn more fuel to generate the same amount of energy,” said the article entitled The Ethanol Myth.
Kory Teneycke, executive director of the Canadian Renewable Fuels Association, said the mag-azine’s findings are distorted.
“It’s a very torqued article and a very misleading article and it is unfortunate that they published it,” he said.
Teneycke said the piece neglected to inform consumers how the price for E85 ethanol is lower than regular gasoline.
“It willfully ignores the fact that the loss of fuel efficiency is offset by a lower price,” he said.
However, the article did mention that the retail pump price of E85 ethanol averaged $2.91 US per gallon in August, but with the 27 percent fuel economy penalty, drivers would have paid an average of $3.99 for the energy equivalent of a gallon of gasoline.
By comparison, regular gasoline was retailing for $2.84-$3.03 US per gallon in August, according to This Week in Petroleum.
Another key finding of the Consumer Reports article was that the Big Three U.S. auto manufacturers have produced more than five million flexible fuel vehicles since the 1990s to capitalize on government credits.
But due to the limited availability of E85, most of those vehicles, which tend to be large gas-guzzling SUVs, pickups and sedans, are forced to fill up with regular gasoline.
“As a result, these credits have increased annual U.S. gasoline consumption by about one percent or 1.2 billion gallons, according to a 2005 study by the Union of Concerned Scientists,” said the story.
Teneycke said auto manufacturers would be producing SUVs, pickups and large sedans regardless of whether the credits were around because there is a demand for those types of vehicle.
He said the article leaves readers with the false impression that unless renewable fuels can be a complete replacement for gasoline, they are of questionable value. But the whole point of flexible fuel vehicles is to give consumers the option to run their vehicles on either fuel.
“You would think that a magazine that purports to be speaking for consumers would be in favour of consumer choice.”
Teneycke said there was little ink in the story devoted to some of the benefits of using E85 ethanol.
“For renewables, one of the big pros is a better environmental footprint, especially in terms of reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” he said.
One thing Teneycke wanted to clarify is that while it is undeniable there is a fuel economy penalty associated with E85, there is no similar drawback associated with regular ethanol.
“In your typical 10 percent blend, you should have no difference in fuel economy,” said Teneycke.
There is no E85 sold in Canada today but there are plans to introduce the alternative fuel in the near future.
