General Motors pumping for more E85 in New York State

General Motors has been promoting the installation of E85 fueling pumps all around the country and today they turned up for the opening of the first two ethanol pumps in New York state. Station owner Christian King installed the pumps at his stations in Albany and Warrensburg. GM Vice President of Environment, Energy and Safety Beth Lowery was present for the opening and spoke about the company's commitment to the biofuel. GM has a campaign going to get the two million owners of their flex-fuel vehicles to use ethanol when it's available. Dealers will be letting their customers know about the presence of E85 stations as they open up around the country. The GM press release is after the jump.
[Source: General Motors]

General Motors Supports Increased E85 Availability For New York State Motorists

Two New E85 Pumps Open in Albany and Warrensburg

ALBANY, New York – General Motors joined The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), KNC Holdings, Inc. and public officials for the opening of the first E85 ethanol fuel pumps in the State for public use. Two new E85 pumps, installed by station owner Christian King, are located at the Campus Mobil station on Western Avenue in Albany and at a sister station in Warrensburg. The new fueling locations will be promoted by GM as part of a broader, ongoing national GM campaign to boost the use and awareness of ethanol-based E85 fuel in the United States.

"What we are showcasing today is what New York State has been striving for," said Peter R. Smith, President and CEO of NYSERDA. "Increasing the use and availability of alternative fuels, such as E85, is of great importance to help move us away from imported petroleum and bring us closer to energy independence."

There are currently almost 200,000 FlexFuel vehicles registered in New York that are capable of running on E85 ethanol. These vehicles are designed to run on either gasoline, E85 ethanol, or any combination of the two.

"We appreciate the efforts of NYSERDA and Campus Mobil to make E85 ethanol available to more New York drivers," said Elizabeth Lowery, Vice President of Environment, Energy and Safety, General Motors. "At GM, we believe that the biofuel with the greatest potential to displace petroleum-based fuels in the U.S. is ethanol and we have made a major commitment to vehicles that can run on E85 ethanol-with over two million of our FlexFuel vehicles on the road today and plans to expand production going forward. We will continue to work with government, organizations and retailers to promote increased use and awareness of E85 ethanol across the country."

As part of the partnership, GM will promote the availability of the fuel with consumer and dealer outreach. Local GM dealers will help promote these new refueling stations whenever customers purchase flex-fuel vehicles. Today's announcement is part of a nationwide effort by GM to help grow the E85 ethanol fueling station infrastructure. Since May of 2005, GM has announced partnerships in 13 states ( South Dakota, California, Colorado, Texas, Illinois, Minnesota, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida, New York and Virginia ) to locate more than 240 E85 fueling pumps at stations around the country.

GM's E85 partnership and marketing campaign are designed to encourage greater E85 use and showcase GM's E85 FlexFuel vehicle leadership to U.S. consumers. E85 FlexFuel vehicles can run on any combination of gasoline and/or E85, a fuel blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. E85 can contribute to energy independence because it diversifies the source of transportation fuels beyond petroleum, and it provides positive environmental benefits in the form of reduced greenhouse gas emissions.

Today, GM has over two million E85 FlexFuel vehicles on the road in all 50 states, and will produce more this year. For the 2007 model year, GM is offering 16 E85 ethanol-capable vehicle models, with an annual production of more than 400,000 vehicles. This is more than any other manufacturer.

GM believes that developing alternative sources of energy and propulsion is the key to mitigating many of the issues surrounding energy availability. Producing E85 FlexFuel vehicles is one part of GM's strategy to help reduce the use of petroleum and also reduce vehicle emissions. GM's strategy also includes improving the efficiency of the traditional internal combustion engine with technologies available today; and developing electrically-driven vehicles such as hybrids, plug-in hybrids, fuel cell vehicles, and electric vehicles.

General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM), the world's largest automaker, has been the annual global industry sales leader for 76 years. Founded in 1908, GM today employs about 280,000 people around the world. With global headquarters in Detroit, GM manufactures its cars and trucks in 33 countries. In 2006, nearly 9.1 million GM cars and trucks were sold globally under the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden, HUMMER, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn and Vauxhall. GM's OnStar subsidiary is the industry leader in vehicle safety, security and information services. More information on GM can be found at www.gm.com.