Statesville Truck Stop Starts Selling E85 & B20 story & Invite to Grand Openings

See following story published in Statesville Landmark & Record. Click on Link line above to link to on-line version. Although the author got some of the information wrong( that ethanol is more efficient than gasoline and biodiesel) its great that Homer's Truck Stop is starting to get some press. This station is BIG news for North Carolina.

Readers please show your support of renewable fuels by planning to attend and/or passing along this invitation to the Grand opening for Statesville and Charlotte B20 and E85 stations.

YOUR'RE INVITED- November 3rd for the grand openings of Charlotte and Statesville Biofuels Station

10:00 for Charlotte opening at:

Fuel Land #2 - E10 & E85 & B20 (has 2 fuel islands 2 four product pumps)

10222 Johnston Road
Charlotte, NC 28210
704-543-4600


2:00 at:

Homer's Truck Stop of Statesville (Exit 146 on I-40) E85 & E10 & six B20 pumps

306 Stamey Farm Rd
Statesville, NC 28677
704-871-8008


Truck stop offers an alternative choice of fuel
By Anna Kaplan
Record & Landmark
Saturday, October 8, 2005

With their work boots and Carolina drawl, Homer Prevette and Bob Brawley don’t come across as your typical environmentalists.

But the owner and manager, respectively, of Homer’s Truck Stop on Stamey Farm Road, are working to make the station a center for alternative fuels and environmentally friendly choices for truckers and other motorists.

They offer E85 and B20 fuels, which are an ethanol and gasoline mixture and a soy-based biodiesel, respectively. Soon, they will also offer IdleAire services, which provide electricity and telecommunication services to trucks so they don’t have to idle for long periods of time.

“We want to help American farmers and cut our dependence on overseas oil,” Prevette said.

“Through the years, gas prices gave people a taste for reality,” Brawley added. Now, customers are more curious about alternative fuel options than ever before.

E85 is 85 percent ethanol, generally made from corn, and 15 percent gasoline. Vehicles that run this biodegradable fuel help reduce hydrocarbon, benzene and carbon dioxide emissions, according to the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition’s Web site.

Only select cars are designated to use E85, mostly larger American cars like General Motors and Ford models. A car needs a stainless steel fuel line in order to not be corroded by the ethanol, while most fuel lines are made of rubber and non-stainless types of steel, Brawley said.

However, not all E85 customers heed the warning.

“We have people putting this in their ’68 Mustangs, and they’re proud of it,” Brawley said.

One loyal customer fills his ’86 Ford Ranger pickup with the ethanol-based fuel, which brings the truck’s gas mileage up to 18 miles per gallon, according to Brawley. Gas mileage rates depend on the car, but the ethanol does tend to be more efficient.

It’s also cheaper: $2.87 per gallon when regular gasoline is $3.09.

B20 is made from 80 percent regular petroleum diesel and 20 percent biodiesel, a clean-burning, low-emission fuel made from vegetable oil byproducts, according to the National Biodiesel Board Web site.

Unlike the E85, B20 costs the same and gets the same gas mileage as regular diesel, but the environmental effects make it a better choice.

“Biodiesel has very positive qualities for our economy because we’re utilizing plant products that are grown domestically,” said Jim Rogers from Hickory, who has a diesel engine in his Volkswagen that he fills with B20.

Homer’s Truck Stop started selling the E85 several weeks ago, and biodiesel several weeks before that. About 15 people buy the E85 per day, many of them people passing through town who already know the station sells alternative fuels.

The biodiesel is much more popular due to its versatility. All diesel engines can use it, although some truck drivers don’t have permission from their companies and have to call in to get the purchases approved, Brawley said.

“We have people calling us to make sure we do have the biodiesel. Customers hear about it on Sirius radio, and they try it out,” he said.

Another alternative fuel the station may offer in the future is E10, which has a lower ethanol level and is more compatible with gasoline engine. Their distribution company, Thomas Petroleum in Shelby, does not carry it yet, Brawley said.

He and Prevette said they hope that one day, there will be government incentives for gas stations to carry alternative fuel.

In addition to alternative fuel, Homer’s Truck Stop will soon have IdleAire services, which pump heat, air conditioning, electricity, telecommunication and wireless Internet into the cabs of trucks so they don’t have to idle all night and pollute the air.

The project, funded completely by the Colorado-based company and requiring no money from either Iredell County or Homer’s Truck Stop, was approved by the Iredell County Commission on Tuesday.

“This will save millions of barrels of diesel fuels and will be better for the environment," said county attorney Bill Pope.

IdleAire will be available for use in about two months at 100 sites at the truck stop. More than 250 trucks come through the station every day, Brawley said.

But the appeal of IdleAire and alternative fuels goes beyond truckers.

“There are two classes of people doing this,” Brawley said. “There are the educated people who are concerned about the environment, and the working class people looking for price.”



Staff Writer Carrie Sidener contributed to this article.