Colorado Corn Cultivating Opportunities

The Ethanol Promotion and Information Council has launched a new program, with the assistance of a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) grant, which will track the average E85 prices nationwide.

The program operating under the name E85 Tracker will sample 1,100 stations in seven regions of the U.S. every two weeks. 120 stations will be surveyed in each region on a random basis to calculate the national average price. The first survey showed E85 at $2.36 a gallon.

Consumers literally have to live under a rock not to hear a flurry of reports on the average price of unleaded gasoline week after week. It is served up to the media and often occupies a prominent role in a newscast or print article, depending on the relative increase in prices, according to EPIC.

But no one has ever undertaken the task of tracking E85 prices before EPIC entered the arena. For one obvious reason, it is a somewhat arduous task due to the unpredictability of the market and the turnover factor in E85 at a specific station. These obstacles did not deter EPIC as they continue to compile an analysis every two weeks made up of a consistent and random sampling of stations across the country.

The goal is to provide a snapshot in time of the average E85 price in relation to the cost of unleaded gasoline and over time highlight pricing trends. The information is of value not only to members of the media and consumers, but effective information for the industry’s public relations and marketing efforts. 10/08/07