As gas prices fluctuated over the recent months, the search for alternative fuels increased. One of the alternative fuels is ethanol gas, or E85 fuel.

E85 is a mixture of 85 percent ethanol, made primarily of corn, as well as 15 percent petroleum.

“Ethanol gas is currently being discussed as an appropriate alternative to petroleum,” said State Representative Bob Pritchard (R-Hinckley). “As rising gas prices continue, we can be able to look into future plans as finding new resources for energy.”

E85 fuel has a number of benefits including its image as environmentally sound alternative to straight petroleum.

“The benefits of using the gas is that the price [is] cheaper than petroleum gas, as well as that its environmentally beneficial because the components are cleaner,” Pritchard said.

There are no laws regarding the sales of ethanol fuels, but there has been a lot of discussion regarding the use and the incentives involving E85.

“We are currently offering incentives such as grants to gas station owners for selling the fuels,” Pritchard said.

E85 fuel is already being created and is used in Illinois, as well as other states.

According to the Illinois Green Fleets Web site, www.illinoisgreenfleets.org, there are 76 stations located across the state offering E85 fuel.

“[This] happens to be one of Gov. [Rod] Blagojevich’s successes with the creation of those stations,” said Hans Detweiler, a spokesman for the Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity of the E85 stations in Illinois.

“The fuel has been selling well. In fact, the gas stations that sell ethanol fuels have gotten better results as opposed to stations that sell mid- and premium-grade gasoline,” he said.

However, with the benefits E85 fuel may provide, some people are not keen to the idea of selling gas.

“I’m not very sure about ethanol fuel being a viable source of energy right now”, said Eric Mogren, associate history professor. “There are a lot of questions that we are not sure about, with [storage] capabilities and costs and it may be worth it later. But for now, I don’t think it’s suitable.”