SAN DIEGO–Pearson Fuels expects to open at least 120 more E85 fueling sites in
California by the end of 2025, a company official said Thursday.
“I feel confident that we will be opening 60 to 70 retail E85 sites per year
over each of the next two years, hence a high degree of confidence that we will
hit grow to 500 stations in our California retail E85 network within the next
24 to 30 months,” Doug Vind, the company’s managing member, told OPIS.
Pearson, California’s largest E85 distributor, recently opened its 350th E85
site in the Los Angeles area.
The company surpassed its previous annual record by opening 63 new retail E85
sites in 2023, according to Vind, and has another 150 unopened sites under
contract that are “in various states of permitting.”
Pearson estimates statewide E85 volumes for 2023 will come in at least 10%
above the record 103.5 million gal sold statewide in 2022.
The company says that it blends a significant volume of its E85 “with
ultra-low-carbon renewable naphtha, resulting in E85 that is more than 98%
renewable.”
“We continue to selectively source blend stocks that reduce the carbon
intensity of our E85,” Vind stated.
Pearson is looking to branch out by the end of 2024 into Oregon and/or
Washington, states that offer low-carbon fuel programs similar to California’s.
“We were encouraged to see if we can supply product there by folks that want
low-carbon E85, like we’re doing in California,” Vind said. “It’s a compliment
to be asked to supply into new markets, but it’s also a responsibility to do it
on a sustainable basis.”
Credit: Oil Price Information Service
Reporting by Michael Schneider, mschneider@opisnet.com; Editing by Jordan
Godwin, jgodwin@opisnet.com