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Holiday Stationstores to Carry E85 Fuel

7 October 1999

American Lung Association of Minnesota: Holiday Stationstores to Carry E85 Fuel; Minnesota Company Takes Another Stand for Clean Air Fuels

    ST. PAUL, Minn., Oct. 6 -- The American Lung Association of
Minnesota announced today that Holiday Stationstores and thirteen other
Minneapolis-St. Paul area companies have joined as partners of the Minnesota
E85 Project in constructing the nation's first "renewable" motor fuels
marketplace.  By spring 2000, seventeen Holiday Stationstores and more than
fifteen other service stations will offer E85 fuel, a cleaner fuel which is a
blend of 85% ethanol and just 15% petroleum -- used specifically in flexible
fuel vehicles (FFVs).  With current component costs, E85 (estimated octane
rating: 100+) may be competitively priced with 87-octane gasoline.  FFVs may
fuel on any mix of E85 and/or gasoline.
    An estimated 25,000 FFVs are presently registered in Minnesota with that
number expected to double in the next few months.  Eight FFV models --
minivans, pickups and sedans, will be available this fall at Ford, General
Motors, Daimler Chrysler and Mazda dealerships.  FFVs cost no more than
gasoline only vehicles and are manufactured as standard equipment.
    Holiday Stationstores, Kwik Trip, Freedom and individual Ashland, Cenex,
Conoco and Mobil stations will join ten existing stations already offering E85
in Minnesota.  In addition, the University of Minnesota, the State of
Minnesota and Hennepin County soon will offer E85 fueling to their fleets.
The U.S. Postal Service has ordered more than 22,000 E85-capable delivery
vehicles that will begin deployment before the year's end.  The U.S. General
Services Administration and U.S. Department of Energy are concentrating
resources in the Twin Cities and five other cities to boost numbers of
alternative fuel vehicles in the federal fleet and the use of appropriate
fuels in those vehicles.
    The Minnesota E85 Project, a private/public collaboration, is partnering
with fuel retailers on installation of E85 equipment, ranging in price from
$1000 to about $20,000.  Similar projects are presently underway in Chicago,
Denver and in other parts of the country.  An estimated 700,000 FFVs will be
on U.S. roadways by the end of 1999.
    On September 22nd, Holiday Stationstores and Koch Petroleum Group
introduced Blue Planet gasoline to the Twin Cities market.  The first of its
kind in the country outside California, this low-sulfur oxygenated gasoline
meets proposed U.S. Environmental Protection Agency maximum sulfur standards
six years early without compromising power and performance.  While Blue Planet
gasoline may be used by any gasoline powered engine, E85 is certified only for
use in flexible fuel engines.  Holiday Stationstores has taken a proactive
stance on clean air fuels by offering these products to Minnesota consumers.
    The American Lung Association of Minnesota (ALAMN), serving Minnesotans
since 1903, is one of the oldest non-profit voluntary health organizations in
the nation.  ALAMN provides advocacy, research, education and programs to
promote healthy air, healthy people and healthy lungs.  Key areas of focus
include:  outdoor and indoor air quality, asthma management, smoking
prevention and cessation, flu and pneumonia immunization, and lung disease
management.  For more information please call 651-227-8014 or 800-642-5864 or
visit the ALAMN websites at http://www.alamn.org or http://www.healthhouse.org