It appears that Wal-Mart is seriously considering offering E85 fuel at many of its Wal-Mart and Sam's Club locations nation wide.
Personally, I believe this is one of the few times that a publicly available corporate policy by Wal-Mart is a good thing. Any and all alternative fuels are going to require a leap of faith (i.e.: a cash investement) by large corporations and/or governments. Offering E85 nationwide helps to break the Catch-22 situation of consumers desiring alternatives, but there being no supply, and retailer(s) offering it, but not seeing a visible demand market. Perhaps as more people can purchase flex-fuel vehicles due to wider fuel availability, the true viability of ethanol can be explored and verified/refuted.
The full text of the article is available here.Brandon: Attention Wal-Mart shoppers…
Jun 13, 2006 9:53 AM
By Hembree Brandon Farm Press Editorial Staff
What the oil companies won’t do, Wal-Mart may. The world’s largest retailer said last week it may offer ethanol-based E-85 fuel at nearly 400 of its gas stations in the U.S.
Although company officials say they’re not making a definite commitment, they obviously have been studying the situation carefully. At a Washington meeting that included industry, government, and academic sectors, Wal-Mart execs discussed ways to develop an infrastructure for supplying E-85 fuel to stations at its stores and Sam’s Clubs.
“We are absolutely considering E-85,” said Kevin Gardner, a Wal-Mart spokesman. “We’re looking to work with the business community to identify strategic partners to further our efforts in the alternative fuels arena. We’re looking at and considering a lot of things, but we just don’t have anything to announce right now.”
Personally, I believe this is one of the few times that a publicly available corporate policy by Wal-Mart is a good thing. Any and all alternative fuels are going to require a leap of faith (i.e.: a cash investement) by large corporations and/or governments. Offering E85 nationwide helps to break the Catch-22 situation of consumers desiring alternatives, but there being no supply, and retailer(s) offering it, but not seeing a visible demand market. Perhaps as more people can purchase flex-fuel vehicles due to wider fuel availability, the true viability of ethanol can be explored and verified/refuted.