Strong sales of E85 continue across the Midwest and especially in Minnesota, according to organizations that track sales.

In the first eight months of 2011, Minnesota E85 sales increased 26 percent compared to the same period in 2010. Reports from Iowa and North Dakota also show significantly higher E85 sales this year than in 2010.

Minnesota has more than 360 E85 retail outlets, more than any other state. Plus, the state also continues to make progress to reduce gasoline consumption in state-owned vehicles. Between July 2010 and June 2011, the state fleet used more than one million gallons of E85, setting a new record for a 12-month period.

According to the Minnesota SmartFleet Committee, E85 now accounts for approximately 19 percent of their light-duty fuel purchases. State agencies used 736,885 gallons of E85 from January through September, up from the 724,827 gallons during the same period in 2010.

“This increase is all the more notable because many of the state’s 3,000 flex fuel vehicles that are capable of using E85 were not driven during a 20-day state government shutdown in July,” said Tim Morse, chair of the SmartFleet Committee and director of Fleet and Surplus Services for the Minnesota Department of Administration.

“Using these fuels not only reduces lifecycle emissions and air pollution, they also help reduce our dependence on petroleum, a majority of which is imported into Minnesota from tar sand sources,” said Kelly Marczak, director of the Clean Air Choice program of the American Lung Association in Minnesota and SmartFleet Committee member.