Ben LeBeau pulled up to the Conserv Fuel station in Brentwood on a recent Friday and started filling the tank of his black Chevy Tahoe with a liquid rarely found in California -- E85, an alternative fuel made of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline.
The station is near his office, and he's been a regular there for more than a month. LeBeau's Chevy, a so-called flexible-fuel vehicle, can run on gasoline, E85 or any combination of the two -- and that's one reason he bought it.
"Unless I have to, I don't use regular gas anymore," said LeBeau, 34, of Agoura Hills. He doesn't mind that his mileage per gallon is lower with E85, which is usually made from corn. The fuel is easier on the environment than gasoline, LeBeau said. "It's what you can do today."
For LeBeau and other E85 converts, there's just one problem: Although California leads the nation in adopting alternative fuels, there are only seven places to get E85 in the state, and only three are open to the public. New government funding and a greater sense of environmental urgency is starting to improve the outlook, though.
In 2007, California had 835 alternative fuel stations, more than any other state. Most dispense electricity (379), liquefied petroleum gas (215) or compressed natural gas (174), according to figures compiled by the U.S. Department of Energy. Sites offering liquefied natural gas, hydrogen, biodiesel or E85 were far down the list.
The disparity is largely a reflection of the state's longtime emphasis on converting large fleets used by governments, school districts and private industry to alternative fuels, rather than changing the vehicle choices and habits of the masses. It's also a manifestation of California's small role in growing corn and soy beans, the primary crops used to produce E85 and biodiesel.
Now, however, California has adopted ambitious new goals for alternative fuels and cutting greenhouse gas emissions -- and it can no longer afford to leave the public out of the mix. For starters, the state is going to increase the use of ethanol as a fuel additive to all gasoline sold here.
For years, California's gasoline has contained 5.7% ethanol to boost octane and comply with federal emissions rules; starting in 2010, that will rise to 10% ethanol. For a state that consumes about 43 million gallons of gas each day, that change alone represents a huge jump in ethanol consumption.
