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GM and Ethanol E85 Team Up in Jackson Hole, Wyoming
Decades ago, long before I discovered my love of test drives and race tracks, I was a ski bum and waitress at the still wild and wooly Cowboy Bar in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Both the resort town and I have come a long way since those days, which I discovered on a recent trip there to learn about E85 Ethanol and drive the FlexFuel Tahoe from General Motors (GM).
 There was, of course, plenty of time to fit in a little spring skiing at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort (JHMR), which, appropriately enough, is now ISO-certified with an environmental stamp of approval as a “green resort.” The company is one of two ski resorts in the US to achieve this recognition.
Going green is very hip right now. Hollywood celebrities risked creasing their tuxes and wrinkling their gowns to ride to the Academy Awards in Toyota Prius hybrids this year, and Al Gore won an Oscar for his documentary on climate change. But interestingly enough, the GM/Jackson Hole relationship is not just a flavor-of-the-month arrangement.
 In fact, JHMR and Chevrolet’s large SUV/ truck division have been partners for a decade. As of this year, the resort’s fleet of trucks is E85-compatible, and both have teamed up to establish an E85 station in Jackson Hole that will open later this year.
Eco-Comic Relief
Let’s be honest. Ethanol E85 is such a dense and brainy subject that I could bore you, and myself, to death talking about it. I have spent weeks trying to bend my mind around the facts and put it into something that might be fun to read.
 So when I heard about a gas station owner in Teaneck, New Jersey selling ethanol-free gas for Passover, it was comic relief. The reason for the ethanol-free gas? Ethanol, you see, is typically derived from corn, which is a forbidden food for Jews during Passover.
To sell the ethanol-free gas, the station owner had to receive a special exemption to the EPA rule regarding the plant ethanol content of gasoline. His station siphoned off the non-Kosher gasoline and replaced it with Kosher gasoline in a process supervised by a Rabbi. Controversial? You bet. Not only were some Rabbis up in arms but the price alone—at around $9.69 per gallon—ended up being an April Fool’s Day hoax.
But like all good satire, this story reveals a subtle truth. When it comes to the subject of ethanol and alternative fuels, the reality is up for grabs.
It’s Not Easy to Go Green
 GM believes the best way to power the automobile in years to come is with many different sources of energy. Among those technologies is the E85 FlexFuel Vehicle (FFV) drivetrain, which runs on gasoline, E85 ethanol (a blend of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline) or any combo of the two.
Ethanol E85 is produced in the US from plants and grains like corn stover (the corn plant and husks) and woody substances like switchgrass. GM currently is sponsoring research on cellulosic ethanol, a process in which ethanol is produced from other biomass resources such as municipal solid waste, garbage, energy crops, wood waste and sawdust (The technology is not there yet but it is predicted that large-scale production from cellulose could happen in the next 10 to 15 years).
 The intent of E85 is twofold: first, reducing the use of traditional petroleum-based fuels and second, cutting down on greenhouse emissions. The view from the other side is that it is hugely expensive and wasteful, both in terms of its production and its burn rate. Ethanol has only 70% of the energy density of gasoline, making it less efficient. Some critics say that the amount of energy needed to produce corn for ethanol, and to convert plant substances into the fuel, has a worse impact than driving a regular gasoline-powered motor.
GM has made a commitment to producing E85 FFV’s, with more than 2 million of these vehicles on the road in all 50 States. The bigger story is that major automotive companies are aligning in this effort. In May of 2006, GM, Ford and DaimlerChrylser gave their support to US “25x25” initiative, an effort to get 25 percent of the nations’ transportation energy needs met by domestically-produced renewable fuels by 2025.
For more information on GM’s alternative fuel products check out: www.livegreengoyellow.com
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