DES MOINES, Iowa --- General Motors, Iowa Gov. Chet Culver and Kum & Go L.C. announced plans for 19 new E85 ethanol fueling locations to be opened throughout Iowa by the end of 2008. The new fueling locations will be promoted by GM as part of a national campaign to boost the use and awareness of ethanol-based E85 fuel in the United States. The announcement was made at the Iowa State Fair. "I commend General Motors, Kum & Go and organizations including the American Lung Association for supporting alternative fuels and making E85 ethanol more widely available to Iowa drivers," Culver said. "It's important that we support our local energy economies while decreasing our dependence on foreign oil. These new E85 refueling sites will help provide Iowans with even more opportunities to choose biofuels." As part of the collaboration, GM is promoting the availability of the fuel with consumer and dealer outreach. Local GM dealers will help promote these new refueling stations whenever customers purchase flex-fuel vehicles. "GM wants to be a part of the solution to reduce this nation's dependence on petroleum and we appreciate the efforts of Gov. Culver and Kum & Go to support E85 ethanol," said Elizabeth Lowery, GM vice president of environment, energy and safety policy. "At GM, we believe that biofuels like E85 give us the greatest near-term potential to actually reduce gasoline consumption and emissions." Energy Department funding will support Kum & Go's plans to complete a total of 19 new E85 ethanol fueling sites at existing retail stations in Iowa and an additional five new fueling sites at retail stations in South Dakota and Minnesota. "We know how much our customers care about the environment and we're proud to offer them the choice for renewable fuels at the pump," said Kyle Krause, president and CEO of Kum & Go. The announcement is part of a nationwide effort by GM to help grow the E85 ethanol fueling station infrastructure. Since May of 2005, GM has announced partnerships in a total of 13 states to locate more than 250 E85 fueling pumps at stations around the country. E85 FlexFuel vehicles can run on any combination of gasoline and/or E85, a fuel blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. For the 2007 model year, GM offers 14 E85 ethanol-capable vehicle models.