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Ethanol

Ethanol Market Penetration

Domestically produced ethanol has the potential to displace a significant amount of U.S. petroleum consumption. A joint U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)/U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) study found that 1.3 billion tons of biomass—predominantly cellulosic feedstocks—could be produced for biofuel production in the United States annually with only modest changes in farming practices (see the report PDF 2.8 MB). Download Adobe Reader. This quantity of feedstocks could be used to produce enough biofuels—mostly ethanol—to satisfy about one third of current U.S. petroleum demand. The potential could be even larger if technology is developed to take advantage of additional forms of biomass such as algae.

The potential of biomass-derived fuels is key to U.S. petroleum displacement goals. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 established a nationwide renewable fuels standard requiring use of 7.5 billion gallons of renewable fuel by 2012. The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 boosted this renewable fuels standard substantially, requiring 36 billion gallons of annual renewable fuel use by 2022. Of this requirement, 21 billion gallons must be "advanced biofuels"—fuels that cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50%—including 16 billion gallons of cellulosic biofuels. Visit the Renewable Fuels Association Web site for more information about the Renewable Fuels Standard.

The DOE Biomass Program's goal is to displace 30% of U.S. gasoline use (based on year 2004 use) with renewable fuels by 2030. To learn more about Biomass Program goals, see the Biomass Multi-Year Program Plan (PDF 10 MB). Download Adobe Reader.

Ethanol primarily replaces gasoline as a fuel for passenger vehicles. The table below shows the penetration of ethanol, flexible-fuel vehicles (FFVs), and E85 stations into the gasoline market. As of 2006, about 3% of gasoline consumption—3.7 billion gasoline gallon equivalents (GGEs)—was displaced with ethanol, which was produced almost entirely from corn.

Current Penetration of Ethanol into the U.S. Gasoline Market
 GasolineEthanol/FFV/E85 (% of gasoline)
Fuel consumption (million GGE)1141,8413,697 (2.6%)
Vehicles2231,905,0006,010,000 (2.6%)
Stations3167,4761,166 (0.7%)

12006 ethanol consumption from AFDC U.S. Total Production and Consumption of Ethanol; 2006 finished motor gasoline from EIA Product Supplied
22006 FFVs in use from AFDC Light-Duty E85 FFVs in Use as of 2006; 2005 passenger car, motorcycle, and other 2-axle, 4-tire vehicle from Bureau of Transportation Statistics Automobile Profile
32007 E85 stations from AFDC U.S. Alternative Fueling Stations by Fuel Type; 2006 gasoline stations from AFDC Public Retail Gasoline Stations by State and Year


Graph showing U.S. consumption of fuel ethanol from 1981 to 2006. The y-axis is consumption in units of million gasoline gallon equivalents, with a scale from 0 to 4,000. The x-axis lists the years 1981 through 2006. Consumption starts near 0 gasoline gallon equivalents in 1981, rises gradually to almost 1,500 in 2002, then rises sharply, reaching about 3,700 in 2006.

Source: Energy Information Administration, 2006 (Excel 25 KB)

Below are additional ethanol market penetration indicators from the AFDC's Data, Analysis & Trends pages. Also see the Energy Information Administration's Renewable & Alternative Fuels page for data related to ethanol and other alternative fuels. For more information about the potential of ethanol, see the AFDC's Benefits, Energy Balance, and Greenhouse Gas Emissions pages.

Additional Ethanol Market Penetration Indicators

Ethanol Fuel

  • U.S. Consumption of Ethanol and MTBE Oxygenates, 1992-2005 (Excel 20 KB)
  • U.S. Total Production and Consumption of Ethanol, 1981-2006 (Excel 25 KB)
  • World Ethanol Production, 2006 (Excel 21 KB)

Flexible Fuel Vehicles

E85 Stations

Biomass Resources

  • U.S. Total Corn Production and Amount Used for Ethanol (Excel 22 KB)
  • Uses of 2007 U.S. Corn Crop (Excel 25 KB)
  • U.S. Ethanol Plant Ownership and Capacity (Excel 22 KB)
  • Local Economic Impact of Ethanol Plants (Excel 21 KB)
  • Modes of Transporting Ethanol-Related Materials (Excel 20 KB)