Last week's Labor Day holiday signaled the unofficial end of summer and the official end of the Renewable Fuels Association's third annual "Ethanol Days of Summer" contest. During the three-month contest, which offered consumers the chance to win $50 in free fuel per day, more than 3,100 new users of E85prices.com registered and helped report prices for higher ethanol blends like E15 and E85, as well as conventional fuels. But with access to fuel that's both lower priced and better for the environment, all drivers are winners, the RFA said. "This contest has been a great way to introduce drivers to ethanol options they may not have been aware of, while having fun and helping others in an interactive way," said RFA Vice President of Industry Relations Robert White. "Our E85prices.com website provides drivers with data at their fingertips, tracking the locations and prices of those ethanol stations closest to them. As we continue to build out our data collection capabilities, we look forward to providing consumers with even more information on ethanol blend pricing." The contest also highlighted the price discount between ethanol blends and regular unleaded fuel, reported on E85prices.com. The website is crowdsourced and provides pricing and locations for thousands of stations selling E85 and E15 blends across the country. By submitting prices they see, contest winners collectively received $4,950 in free fuel. The market for higher ethanol blends continues to grow, White said. All model year 2001 and later light duty vehicles can use 15% ethanol (E15), accounting for more than 90% of the vehicles on the road today. Additionally, more than 22 million flex fuel vehicles can use 85% ethanol (E85). However, many consumers aren't aware about either ethanol blend as an option for their vehicle, and this contest was designed to help. For more information and to see a list of 2019's winners, click here.
