Sep. 5--OLYMPIA -- One of the largest fuel distributors in the Northwest is delivering a blend of ethanol fuel to an Olympia gasoline station that sells for about 80 cents less per gallon than unleaded.

The Shell station at 3505 Pacific Ave. is Wilcox & Flegel Oil Co.'s sixth location in the state to offer E85 fuel, a blend that is 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline.

Based in Longview, Wilcox is a longtime distributor of diesel and gasoline that started selling E85 fuel about a year ago, special projects manager Aaron Wilcox said.

The company decided to offer the fuel because Detroit automakers are manufacturing more vehicles that operate on E85, he said.

On Thursday, a gallon of E85 at the Shell station was selling for $2.99 a gallon, 86 cents cheaper than the Olympia average for unleaded, according to AAA data.

Wilcox said the fuel is cheaper because it costs less to produce and obtain. Ethanol, made from corn, is largely produced in the Midwest, although ethanol also can be derived from soybeans and sugar cane, Wilcox Territory Manager John Reilly said.

It also burns cleaner yet it has one noticeable side effect -- fuel mileage decreases about 15 percent, Wilcox said. Still, he feels the cost of the fuel compared with unleaded gasoline outweighs the lack of fuel efficiency.

One pump at the station offers E85 fuel and a list of E85-approved vehicles has been posted on it. Most stations sell gasoline with about 10 percent ethanol, Reilly said, but not as many vehicles can accommodate E85.

Ford, GM and Chrysler make some "flex" fuel vehicles, as well as Mercedes, Nissan and Mazda, according to the list.

Customers unsure about whether their car accepts E85 fuel should check to see whether "flex fuel" or "E85" is spelled out on the gasoline cap. A car that doesn't take E85, but is accidentally filled with it might not operate correctly or at all, Wilcox said.

A South Sound gasoline station selling E85 fuel is worth checking, said Bryan Bazard, fleet manager for the state motor pool and its 1,800 vehicles, 800 of which are flex fuel vehicles.

"We definitely want to try it out and run some tests on it," Bazard said of the fuel.

After one week, the Shell station has sold 270 gallons of E85, Reilly said. Although Wilcox Oil expects to offer E85 at as many as 10 locations, it has no plans to stop selling gasoline, diesel and lubricants.

"If it was the only product at the (Shell station), we would be out of business," Reilly said.

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