The University of Arizona's motor pool is turning to an environmentally friendly ethanol fuel, becoming the first university west of the Mississippi to transition its fleet away from gasoline.
The UA's fleet is the first in Tucson to move to E85, a high-octane, low-emission fuel made of 85 percent corn-based ethanol and 15 percent gasoline.
About 35 of the UA's 120 vehicles are specially designed to run on ethanol, and in the future all cars new to the fleet will be "flexible fuel" vehicles, said Walt Kavanagh, assistant director of business services for Facilities Management. About 20,000 gallons are expected to be used the first year.
The switch is driven by a desire to improve energy conservation on campus and to support a renewable domestic fuel. Any savings will depend on fluctuating market costs of both gasoline and ethanol, Kavanagh said. With the recent dip in gasoline prices, E85 now costs more than gasoline.
"Facilities Management wants to be on the cutting edge," Kavanagh said. "We have no choice. We have to be out there doing the best we can."
In the four weeks since E85 was introduced to the fleet, the UA's motor pool has dispensed about 4,000 gallons of the fuel, he said. A new $52,000 fuel tank was formally dedicated Monday morning.
"The university has led the way in many, many areas of conservation, of doing things right," said Joel D. Valdez, UA senior vice president for business affairs. Valdez joked that he had dedicated numerous buildings and even landfills, but never a gas tank.
"We are proud to be leading in innovation," said Valdez, noting that he expects the university to incorporate solar energy on campus in the future.
A 10 percent ethanol, 90 percent gasoline blend is sold during the winter in the Tucson and Phoenix areas as an oxygenated fuel to reduce pollution. The UA's vehicles can use any combination of gasoline and ethanol.
Ethanol, or ethyl alcohol, is produced by the fermentation of sugars in plants, typically corn in the United States.
More than 100 ethanol plants are operating in the country, and a new plant is expected to open every six weeks for the next 36 months to meet demand, said Robert White, of the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council.
"There's no doubt ethanol continues to drop particulate pollution," he said.
In the U.S. there are 940 stations that sell ethanol and more than 6 million flexible-fuel vehicles, with an auto industry commitment to double that by 2010. Arizona's first ethanol plant, Pinal Energy, will open in Maricopa in March.
Fewer than 60 fleets and 10 universities across the country have switched to ethanol, White said.
