MEDFORD, Ore. – During the next 15 months, two ethanol plants will go on-line in northern Oregon, creating a need for more flex-fuel filling stations, pro-E-85 advocates argue, the Mail Tribune reports.

State officials hope that within three years, 20 percent of vehicles registered in Oregon will run on E-85. Right now, fewer than 5 percent of the state’s registered cars and trucks can handle the flex-fuel.

The Northwest Regional Ethanol Distribution Network, a public/private partnership, was formed to accommodate the new demand, with a goal of supporting 15 retail distribution points along Interstate 5.

Sharon Banks, chief executive of Cascade Sierra Solutions, obtained a $150,000 grant from the Oregon Energy Department to build E-85 stations along Interstate 5 in Oregon and Washington. "I've always been proponent for cleaner fuels," Banks told the newspaper. "This is a completely renewable fuel made domestically. Right now it's brought in by truck, but will soon be delivered by rail."

Thus far, three of the 15 fueling stations are operational.