Case Studies

East End Marketing, Long Island, New York
2005 – Present

Clean Fuels Consulting first met with representatives of East End Marketing, an influential petroleum marketer in New York’s Long Island region, when the company sought information on the renewable fuel E85.  In 2005, this was a relatively unknown alternative fuel with no stations in the area, even though the fuel could be used in many domestic vehicles that could use both standard gasoline and E85, and was commonly found at stations in the Mid-West.  At that point, educating retailers was the name of the game, and East End Marketing had a serious interest in innovation, provided it could help the bottom line.  With strong connections to Mid-Western ethanol experts and a solid technical background in the equipment requirements for installing an E85 station, Clean Fuels Consulting provided the specific information and links to existing resources that the company needed to make its own decision on whether to introduce the fuel at its stations.

Clearly, with a high price tag for installing a new tank, piping and dispenser, getting grant funding towards construction helped sway the scale in favor of adding the fuel.  Clean Fuels Consulting assisted the company by preparing a grant application for CMAQ (Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality) funding administered by local clean fuels advocate the Greater Long Island Clean Cities Coalition.  The company was awarded $156,000 towards a new station, the first and only E85 grant awarded under the GLICCC grant program. 

As with so many things, solid preparation, and being in the right place at the right time can make all kinds of things happen.  Clean Fuels Consulting’s role for its clients is to help them capitalize on grant funding opportunities as soon as they come out, and have the clients positioned to apply for funding immediately.  The window for applications is often painfully short, and the requirements considerable.  With one grant under its belt, East End Marketing was eager to see what other opportunities might be available.

Subsequently the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority opened a program for biofuels stations in New York state, and East End Marketing was able to successfully apply for six stations, bringing in sums of $28-40,000 per station.  

When the United States Department of Agriculture opened its Rural Energy Assistance Program, and set a fast track goal of getting biofuels station applications into the pipeline, Clean Fuels Consulting was able to assemble the lengthy government application within the very short time the grant opportunity was open.  The complicated program was evaluated, contact made with the program administrators in upstate New York, and a suitable rural location identified out of the East End Marketing properties.  In mostly suburban Long Island, farm areas are limited, but there was a station in Wading River, surrounded by rural farm area, that could support the fuel and was suitable for the strict program guidelines.  The government application was successful, and the company was able to augment construction costs by nearly $50,000 through this grant, the only REAP biofuels grant awarded in the Long Island region.

Now the company is a leading marketer of E85, offering the fuel at the most attractive price; local consumers win on the low price of the fuel, and our country wins on the energy security side.

< back to Case Studies