Combustível alternativo chega a Oakland

(Notícia em Inglês)
Oakland drivers may want to take a closer look at their owner's manuals this week. The city's first biofuels vending station opened Tuesday, offering fill-ups for any engine that can run using renewable alternatives to gasoline.

The station, operated by Propel Fuels, is in the Adams Point neighborhood, at the intersection of Grand Avenue and Perkins Street. Its opening marks biofuel's first foothold in Oakland. To commemorate the occasion, Propel spent two days offering each new customer five free gallons of either the company's ethanol-based "FlexFuel," or biodiesel for diesel engines.

FlexFuel, also called E85, is a biofuel composed of roughly 85 percent ethanol, the remaining 15 percent being mostly gasoline. According to Mark Prentice, a public relations representative for Propel, the materials required to produce FlexFuel are grown on farms and sent to refineries, all in the United States. Propel serves as a retailer of the finished product, which is currently selling in Oakland for $2.49 per gallon, around 80 cents less than the cost of most regular gasoline. Biodiesel was selling today for $3.19 per gallon.

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