(May 24, 2010) - Central Florida now has more alternative fueling options. The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) and Protec Fuel are proud to announce the availability of E85 at the Lake Wales, FL Circle K.

The Circle K fueling station offering E85 is located at 1349 Hwy 60 East, which is notably one of the busiest streets in the area. Mid-State Energy, Inc. of Lake Wales, FL owns the property, supplies the conventional fuel products and leases the site to Circle K. Hwy 60 connects the west coast of Florida, from the Tampa Bay and St. Petersburg area to south Florida’s east coast which includes Miami and Ft. Lauderdale. Serving Sunoco fuel, this station will now have the ability to provide more fueling options for their flex-fuel vehicle (FFV) drivers. The Circle K station utilized Protec Fuel’s turnkey E85 fuel program which included the conversion process to an E85 fueling pump, E85 supply and promotional marketing. Protec’s fuel supply and marketing program for Mid-State Energy and Circle K is built around a strong strategic partnership with the Renewable Fuels Association, General Motors, Testing LLC and many other reputable companies. This is the first E85 station for Mid-State Energy, Inc. as well as for the large national retail chain of Circle K Stores, Inc.

“The new product offering of E85 is an exciting addition to the town of Lake Wales and we are located in a busy area of town, so the new E85 pump will attract attention as people drive by,” said Mid-State Energy President Ken Allen Jr. “We anticipate to offer a Biodiesel product in the near future at this location as well as additional E85 stations which will allow more people to join the movement to a cleaner renewable fuel” added Allen.

Jane Dial of Circle K states, “The use of biofuels in our vehicles is growing rapidly and to have the opportunity to offer it as an option to our customers is very exciting and is consistent with the goal of Circle K to help build stronger communities, minimize our environmental footprint and be responsive to our customers and employees.” Todd Garner of Protec said, “Protec is proud to partner with Mid-State Energy and Circle K to bring domestically produced cleaner fuels to the public. As one of the nation’s largest convenience stores chains, Circle K has the potential to have an extremely positive impact on E85.”

There are more than 8 million flex-fuel vehicles (FFVs) on America’s roadways today, with over 2,300 fueling stations offering blends of E85. Efforts to install more of these types of fueling stations are underway with a goal to at least triple the availability of these blends within the next few years.

“When customers fill up with E85, they are not only putting a cleaner burning fuel into their vehicles, they are supporting domestic made fuels and enhancing energy security for the US,” said RFA Market Development Director, Robert White. “Converting these unleaded fuel pumps to E85 stations is an important element in the process of increasing the use of E85 throughout the Southeastern area of the country.”

To help locate the Circle K station, the RFA has developed a fuel locator application for Garmin and TomTom GPS devices. This application locates the closest or most convenient E85 fueling station to the driver using the current location or final destination. In a few simple steps, FFV owners can download this application from their computer directly to their GPS device here.

E85 is an ethanol blended gasoline made up of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline. This fuel is to be used in Flex-Fuel Vehicles only as they have been designed to operate on any level of ethanol blended gasoline. Owners should consult their owner’s manual to see if their vehicle is E85-compatable.

About the RFA: Since 1981, the RFA has led the fight on behalf of American ethanol producers to open markets and create sound public policies allowing for the expanding production and use of fuel ethanol. Representing the majority of American ethanol production, the RFA believes sound analysis, credible statistics, an understanding of the industry rooted in history, and a willingness to work with other groups is the key to effective advocacy.

About Protec Fuel: Protec Fuel is a fuel distribution and management company based in Boca Raton, Florida with its alternative fuel division specializing in turnkey ethanol programs for retailers, fleets and fuel distributors throughout the United States. Turnkey services include: physical ethanol supply and blending programs; financial risk management programs; E85 strategic site selection; station design; equipment supply; new station installation; conversions of existing stations; RINS management; government grant funding assistance and; support with station sales and marketing. Protec also provides marketing services for advanced and cellulosic ethanol producers in addition to a full range of conventional energy risk management programs. Protec’s strategy is to build out E85 infrastructure throughout the United States in order to develop the corresponding long-term demand for regionalized advanced and cellulosic biofuel production and distribution. Protec currently supplies, either directly or through distribution partners, approximately 250 E85 stations. Please visit www.protecfuel.com to learn more.

About Mid-State Energy, Inc.: Mid-State Energy, Inc. is a local family owned Petroleum Distributor headquartered in Lake Wales, Florida owning and servicing convenience stores under the Sunoco, CITGO, and Marathon brand throughout the State of Florida. Mid-State Energy’s three other divisions Highlands Oil company services commercial and industrial customers with their petroleum and lubricant needs in the Central Florida area. Blue Flame Gas is the propane division servicing residential and commercial customers within the same central Florida area while Scenic Self Storage is a 300 unit Self storage facility as well as commercial office/warehouse facility located at the main headquarters on Scenic hwy. in Lake Wales. Please visit our website at www.midstateenergy.com for additional information on the company.

About Circle K: Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. is the leader in the Canadian convenience store industry. In North America, Couche-Tard is the largest independent convenience store operator (whether integrated with a petroleum company or not) in terms of number of company-operated stores.

Couche-Tard currently operates a network of 5,883 convenience stores, 4,142 of which include motor fuel dispensing, located in 11 large geographic markets, including eight in the United States covering 43 states and the District of Columbia, and three in Canada covering all ten provinces.

In 2003-2004, Circle K became part of the Couche-Tard network. Within the decentralized business model of Couche-Tard, the eight US regions operate autonomously and independently from each other. Although some businesses are managed in partnership between the regions for efficiency via national vendor contracts, this is done only upon agreement from each region. The regions are directly responsible for all decisions relating to the operations, marketing, facilities and property management, hiring/HR and technology needs of their respective market areas.

More than 53,000 people are employed throughout Couche-Tard’s retail convenience network and service centers. For more information, please visit: www.couchetard.com.