Energy Consumption by Transportation Fuel in
For transportation, the charts and statistics below show historical trends for fuel consumption in and the increasing importance of alternative fuels produced from renewable energy resources. Statistics include the following:
Geography and location affects state energy consumption for transportation. Traditional wisdom indicates that larger and rural states consume more gasoline for transportation than smaller and urban states.
Source: U.S. 2000 Census
Per Capita Motor Gasoline Consumption in
This graph shows the correlation between population size and gasoline consumption.
Source: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Energy Information Administration (EIA) publishes a complete listing of energy consumption in the transportation sector as part of its State Energy Price and Expenditures Database.
Annual Ethanol Consumption
Ethanol consumption is growing rapidly, driven by the National Renewable Fuel Standard that was first established in the Energy Policy Act (EPAct) of 2005. Under the Energy Act of 2007, Congress required that 36 billion gallons of ethanol be blended into the gasoline supply by 2022. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is responsible for administering the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard.
In late 2007, Congress increased the National Renewable Fuel Standard to 36 billion gallons by 2022. Of this amount, ethanol produced from cellulosic biomass must contribute almost half of the total—16 billion gallons by 2022. Biodiesel was required to contribute 1 billion gallons to the nation's fuel mix in 2012.
Source: EIA SEDS database.