With the demand of alternative fuels on the rise and a national desire to reduce our dependence on foreign oil why is the market still limping forward in making the available alternatives accessible? The flex fuel mixture of E85 has been around for over a decade and yet few states outside of the mid-west have more than 20 stations that carry it. On the West Coast that number drops down to fewer than 10 stations that sell E85.

Those numbers are provided by fueleconomy.com where you can find local filling stations in each state that provide the E85 ethanol fuel option at the pump. As more Flex Fuel vehicles are built in the next year the number of filling stations that carry E85 should increase, assuming that the supply remains available. In the meantime though the only two states that are showing a readily available supply are Illinois and Minnesota. And for both states that supply alternative received state and local government support.

As more ethanol refinaries begin production in the coming years and more farms turn to growing the crops necessary to produce ethanol Flex Fuels like E85 should become more readily available. In the meantime, if you have a Flex Fuel vehicle or are contemplating the purchase of one, go to www.fueleconomy.com and search for the E85 station nearest you.