Ed Glab, clinical professor, Department of Management and International Business, College of Business Administration, opens the discussion.

South Florida looks greener than ever, thanks to the availability of E85 ethanol at a UGas fueling station at 210 NW 79th Avenue in Miami.

Made primarily from corn, E85 ethanol represents a renewable energy source that burns cleaner than gasoline, a fossil fuel. It’s cheaper too, costing on average twenty percent less per gallon than gasoline.

Announcing the arrival of this alternative fuel in Miami marked a dramatic highpoint for the E85 ethanol symposium jointly hosted by Florida International University’s Energy Business Forum in the College of Business Administration and General Motors (GM).

Held on September 12, 2007, at the Modesto A. Maidique Campus, the open forum featured a panel discussion on E85 ethanol infrastructure, technology, and availability, all in the South Florida context. The distinguished panelists included senior engineers as well as energy experts from academia and industry. More than 150 representatives from the business, consumer, and media communities attended the event.

Energy experts lead high-powered discussion.

From left, George Philippidis, associate director of the university’s Applied Research Center; Robert Ruano, director for grants and sustainable initiatives with the City of Miami; Karl Doenges, president of CleanFUEL Distribution, and Mary Beth Stanek, director of environment and energy for GM

Following an introduction by Ed Glab, clinical professor, Department of Management and International Business, College of Business Administration, and director of the college’s Knight Ridder Center for Excellence in Management, George Philippidis, associate director of the university’s Applied Research Center, spoke about the business of ethanol and how to fuel a sustainable future.

Next up, Robert Ruano, director for grants and sustainable initiatives with the City of Miami, provided an overview of the city government’s commitment to and plan for powering its fleet with flex fuel.

Karl Doenges, president of CleanFUEL Distribution, then talked about viable strategies for getting ethanol to South Florida.

Mary Beth Stanek, director of environment and energy for GM, wrapped up the panel discussion with a look at the role partnering and marketing initiatives play in building a viable ethanol infrastructure.

According to Doenges, who has participated with GM in similar energy forums at other major universities, this symposium was “hands down, the best event we’ve had. The attendees were very well-informed. They knew the industry and asked intelligent questions, which made for an enriching, engaging discussion.”

More than 150 representatives from the business, consumer, and media communities attended the event.

Why ethanol? Why now?

A blend of 85 percent ethanol and fifteen percent gasoline, E85 ethanol fuel is one of several initiatives under consideration by the U.S. government and private corporations to reduce the nation’s dependency on foreign oil.

Produced by the fermentation of plant sugars, ethanol typically derives from corn, sugar cane, and other grain products. However, other biomass resources—such as agricultural and forestry waste—as well as crops such as citrus, have been identified as raw materials for alternative fuel formulas.

Corn-based E85 ethanol does have its limits.

“The ideal solution would be to not plant anything special or use more water but instead use what we already throw away—like wood chips, sugar cane waste, or even orange peels—and convert it into useable fuel.”

—Ed Glab, clinical professor, Department of Management and International Business and director, Knight Ridder Center for Excellence in Management

“If you were to use every last acre of corn produced in the United States and turn it into ethanol—and that means no corn to eat for anyone—it would replace roughly only twelve percent of our daily gasoline consumption,” Glab said. “The ideal solution would be to not plant anything special or use more water but instead use what we already throw away—like wood chips, sugar cane waste, or even orange peels—and convert it into useable fuel.”

At the same time, E85 ethanol represents a small step in the right direction: If all the 11,000 drivers in the Miami area who own GM flex-fuel vehicles used E85 ethanol, they would save more than 161,000 barrels of oil annually.

Ignacio Urbieta (MBA ’85), co-owner of Urbieta Oil Company and owner of the Miami UGas station now selling E85 ethanol, is willing to bet on the future.

If this first offering proves successful, he envisions installing flex-fuel pumps in up to a dozen stations across South Florida next year.

“Alternative fuel provides the best path to the future and a very real way to help the economy and the environment.”

—Ignacio Urbieta (MBA ’85), co-owner, Urbieta Oil Company

“I think this is the right thing to do,” Urbieta said. “Alternative fuel provides the best path to the future and a very real way to help the economy and the environment.”

Podcasts of the symposium presentations are available at http://business.fiu.edu/media/index.cfm?apseries=269. To learn more about the Energy Business Forum, visit http://krcem.fiu.edu/energy.html.