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JEA, City Vehicles Use New Ethanol Fueling Site for Vehicles
Jacksonville, FL (August 26, 2004) - Continuing their collaboration on the use of alternative fuels, officials with JEA and the City of Jacksonville's Fleet Management Division met today to open a new fueling site at 555 W. 44th Street that will be used for some of the agencies' alternative-fuel vehicles.
The $133,000 fueling site, partially funded with grants from the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition and the US Department of Energy, will service both JEA and city vehicles that use E85 - a fuel blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent unleaded gasoline. Ethanol is a high-octane, domestic and renewable fuel derived from fermented plant sugars, with most ethanol produced from corn and other grains.
"By diversifying the fuel we use in our fleets, we improve our air quality and reduce our dependence on foreign oil imports," said JEA Director of Fleet Maintenance Jim Maedel. "We're proud of the fact that more than half of our JEA vehicle and equipment uses one of four alternative fuels."
City of Jacksonville Fleet Management Division Chief Sam Houston said that while the E85 fueling site can only be used for government vehicles, he hopes that the new facility will serve as a catalyst for other government agencies and private fuel vendors to embrace the alternative fuel.
The use of alternative fuels is not new at JEA or the City of Jacksonville. Both entities already use biodiesel, another blended fuel mix, and propane in fleet vehicles.
In May, JEA was recognized as an "Exceptional Energy Fleet" at the annual Department of Energy Clean Cities Conference for its use of propane in fleet vehicles.
JEA is the eighth largest community owned electric utility in America providing electricity, water and sewer services to more than 750,000 accounts in Northeast Florida.
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