Motorists should find it much easier to fill up with E-85 ethanol before the end of the year.

Gov. Bill Ritter, along with officials from the U.S. Energy Department and General Motors, on Thursday announced the E-85 initiative, which aims to launch 40 new E-85 fueling stations across Colorado by the end of 2007.

The fuel is a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline.

During his campaign Ritter promised a "new energy economy" in Colorado, which would include more biofuels such as E-85 and biodiesel, as a way to not just become energy independent but also boost rural economic development.

"We can produce E-85, but until we can market it in different parts of the state, it won't mean much," Ritter said, while announcing the initiative at the Capitol.

The Governor's Office of Energy Management and Conservation has set aside nearly $900,000 for the initiative, which would include grants to participating fueling stations. The U.S. Department of Energy contributed the bulk of the money for the initiative.

Denver's Pester Marketing Co., which plans to open a dozen E-85 fueling stations, received $15,000 per station from the OEMC.

Rich Spresser, Pester's executive vice president, said the company would spend anywhere from $30,000 to $100,000 from its own pocket to open those E-85 stations in Denver, Colorado Springs, Alamosa and Pueblo, among other places.

"Our cost would vary, depending on whether we'd have to put in new tanks, fuel lines, fuel dispensers or rebuild current equipment," Spresser said.

There are more than 170,000 gas stations in the nation, but only 600 sell E-85. Thirteen of those stations are in Colorado.

Currently, there are about 6 million E-85 compatible vehicles or FlexFuel vehicles on American roads. FFVs can run on either gasoline or E-85.

GM has more than 2 million E85 FlexFuel vehicles and is offering 16 E85 ethanol-capable vehicle models this year, with an annual production of more than 400,000 vehicles.

"At GM, we believe that the biofuel with the greatest potential to displace petroleum-based fuels in the U.S. is ethanol," said Alan Weverstad, executive director of GM's environment and energy public policy center. "And we have made a major commitment to vehicles that can run on E85 ethanol."

As part of the celebrations, GM on Thursday afternoon funded discounted E-85 for two hours, selling it for 85 cents a gallon at the Sinclair station on 6301 W. 58th Ave. in Arvada.

chakrabartyg@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2976