Zarco 66 Opens Earth Friendly Fuels Station in Kansas

Offering a variety of ethanol and biodiesel fuels, the family owned and operated station at the corner of 9th and Iowa streets was designed and built to be environmentally friendly.

The new Zarco 66 station carries E-10 gasoline for any vehicle as many other gas stations do, while also selling E-20 which is 20 percent ethanol, E-30 which is 30 percent ethanol, and E-85 which is 85 percent ethanol.

Biodiesel blends from 99 percent down to two percent are offered at the Zarco 66 pumps, and when the customer makes a selection, the biodiesel fuel is blended with petroleum diesel on the spot.

Scott Zaremba owns the station and says the success of his green business is a sign of the times. "Renewable fuels are something we've had around for a long time, but with the price of crude oil moving up in the past three years it was something I thought was a viable option," said Zaremba.

Zarco 66 owns and operates eight other stations, all in Kansas, all selling the usual range of petroleum products.

A new type of fueling station opened today in Kansas.

A green roof garden and a rain garden at the station will reduce urban heat-island effects and stormwater runoff, while filtering pollutants and greenhouse gases.

To draw public attention to the green technologies at the station, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Regional Administrator John Askew attended today's opening.

"EPA is here today to celebrate the innovations and technology found at this station, and the collaborative efforts that made it all happen," Askew said. "We intend to provide funding to evaluate the energy and pollution reduction benefits of this pilot project, and help develop a framework for other fuel stations that wish to go green."

To develop a framework for other fuel stations that might want to "go green" with similar approaches, EPA will evaluate the energy and pollution reduction benefits of the Zarco station.

In recognition of their commitment to green technologies, Askew presented station representatives with a Blue Skyways Collaborative Partnership Award.

The Blue Skyways Collaborative is a voluntary, public-private network of individuals, businesses and communities that works to reduce polluting air emissions beyond regulatory requirements.

Additional stakeholders in the Zarco 66 venture include the University of Kansas, which is located in Lawrence; the Kansas Department of Health and Environment; Kansas Department of Agriculture; Kansas Department of Revenue; Kansas Department of Commerce; Kansas Soybean Commission; Kansas Corn Growers; Kansas Farm Bureau; the Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association of Kansas; Hydrotech, Inc., PowerFilm, Inc., and Windterra.

Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2008. All rights reserved.