There’s a lot of negative hype about ethanol and Nick Wagoner tells skeptical auto mechanics not to believe it. The ethanol advocate’s support for the increasingly popular fuel, however, doesn’t  blind him to a fact many motorists may not know.

“E10 can slightly drop mileage because ethanol does not have the energy content of gas,” said Wagoner, who works as an automotive and alternative fuels instructor at Central Community College in Columbus. His workshops are sponsored by the Nebraska Ethanol Board.

The ethanol industry’s own recent studies have reached the same conclusion. A study by the American Coalition for Ethanol and released late last month found vehicles filled with E10, a fuel blended with 10 percent ethanol, averaged 1.5 percent lower mileage than those with regular unleaded. Previous studies by other groups have also concluded ethanol blends produce lower mileage.

Advocates for ethanol, which has a strong link to Nebraska because it is made with the state’s signature crop, acknowledge the public is largely unaware of the fact.

“A lot of people don’t know it,” said Monte Shaw of the Renewable Fuels Association, the national trade association for ethanol plants. “But when you get 30 miles per gallon compared to 29.6 miles per gallon with ethanol, most people don’t care because it doesn’t come to much at the end of the month.”

The relative obscurity of the fact could aid the ethanol industry.

Market surveys have shown that lower price is one of the main reasons people buy ethanol-blended fuel. In June, 70 percent of all fuel sold in Nebraska contained ethanol, up from 44 percent the same time last year, according to the Nebraska Ethanol Board.

Steve Sorum of the Nebraska Ethanol Board largely attributed the increased use to rising gas prices.

Lower mileage with E10 doesn’t automatically make it a questionable buy when cost is paramount.

Simple math shows E10, even though it won’t take you as far as the same amount of regular unleaded, is still a good choice.

At least right now.

A two-day drive-by of Lincoln gas stations showed E10 fuel was about 10 cents per gallon cheaper than regular unleaded — a large enough margin to overcome the mileage deficiency and make E10 the cheaper choice.

But the savings won’t be as much as the figure calculated by simply multiplying 10 cents by the number of gallons you put in your car.

Start with the 1.5 percent mileage difference and use a car with a 15-gallon tank that averages 20 miles per gallon. After filling the empty tank with regular unleaded costing $2.90 per gallon, it will burn the equivalent of 14.5 cents worth of fuel per mile.

The E10 blend, at $2.80 per gallon, will cost about 14.2 cents a mile — still a bargain compared to regular unleaded, just not as much as the big price boards at gas stations would suggest.

Instead of saving $1.50 by filling up with E10, the driver actually saves something closer to 85 cents.

The 10-cent margin, though, is abnormal.

It’s normally 2 cents to 4 cents per gallon cheaper, according to Ron Lamberty, vice president and market development director for the American Coalition for Ethanol.

Should margins in that range return and current prices hovering near $3 a gallon remain about the same, using E10 could become a break-even or money-losing choice even though it is still priced lower.

The break-even price point for E10, with regular unleaded costing 2.90 per gallon, for instance, is about $2.857 per gallon.

Todd Sneller, administrator of the Nebraska Ethanol Board, didn’t dispute the finding that E10 gets lower mileage but added that “I don’t concede everybody is going to have that experience.” The mileage of literally every make of car using E10 is going to differ some, he said, and “it’s an insignificant difference in most cases.”

Ethanol advocates including Shaw and Lambert say that E10, even when the mileage deficiency makes it more expensive to use, is still the smartest cost choice for the long term. The higher octane content and lower energy production of ethanol produces less heat and “wear and tear” on engines, said Lambert, who also advertised ethanol as a good solvent and gas-line antifreeze for vehicles.

Said Shaw: “If you don’t have the proper air pressure (in tires) it can make more of a difference,” in mileage than using E10.

Reach Nate Jenkins at 473-7223 or njenkins@journalstar.com.

When to buy E10

As the margin between the price of regular unleaded and E10 narrows, so do your chances of saving money, due to the ethanol blend’s lower gas mileage. In fact, you end up paying the same per mile when you buy regular unleaded at $3 per gallon and E10 at 4 cents less per gallon.

$3 regular unleaded: 15 cents per mile

$2.96 E10: 15 cents

$2.90 E10: 14.7 cents

$2.98 E10: 15.1 cents

$3 E10: 15.2 cents

Estimates assume fuel costs of a car that gets 1.5 percent lower gas mileage with E10 and that averages 20 mpg with regular unleaded.