We are up to our ears in corn and now we have another use for it: fuel for our cars.

Fields of corn surround the Pacific Pride Commercial Fueling System, 880 Peace Road, which began offering E85 ethanol blended gasoline to the retail driving public in July.

One retail island has been fitted for public use via Visa/Mastercard.

Some of the corn that surrounds NIU goes into the production of ethanol-blended gasoline.

Ethanol is an alternative fuel source offered in blends such as E85 (85 percent corn alcohol and 15 percent gasoline) and E10 (10 percent corn alcohol and 90 percent gasoline).

“We are offering the missing link between drivers who want to use flex fuel and the ethanol,” said Reid Elliot, manager of the Hintzche-operated Pacific Pride. “We respond to the interest of the public.”

Commercial fueling systems are typically not open to the public, however Pacific Pride is a franchise-based company, which offers individual managers the option of opening pumps and services to anyone.

DeKalb’s Pacific Pride carried E85 for its commercial clientele for two years before it opened the pumps to the public.

“There are no requirements for the general public to use alternative fuels like there are for commercial organizations,” said Cindy Condon, vice president of Pacific Pride. “The government mandates a percent of trucks in a fleet to operate on alternative fuels and it gives tax breaks to stations that offer alternative fuels.”

Fueling stations only offer E85 to the public if there is a demand.

With rising and inconsistent gas prices, wariness of foreign dependence and an increased environmental and consumer consciousness, residents of DeKalb County have expressed a desire for an alternative fuel site. The closest station with E85 was 18 miles away until Pacific Pride became public.

Only cars specifically fitted to run ethanol blended E85 can use it.

“One follows the money in any business, and if there is a market for alternative fuels, either by government action or consumer demand, that demand will be met,” Condon said. “I want people to think, however, anytime they buy any fuel. They have to ask themselves: Is this better?”

The Northern Star will further investigate the impact of ethanol on our community in a series of articles in the coming weeks.