Fact #920: April 11, 2016 Electric Charging Stations are the Fastest Growing Type of Alternative Fueling Station

SUBSCRIBE to the Fact of the Week

The number of electric charging stations grew from about 3,400 in 2011 to just over 30,000 in 2015. It should be noted that beginning in 2011, electric charging stations refers to individual plugs rather than a station which may have multiple plugs. Electric vehicle charge times are much longer than refueling times for other fuel types so the number of plugs is critical, but it can inflate the station count for electricity relative to the other alternative fuel types. In 2015, there were about 3,600 propane stations, 3,000 E85 stations, and 1,600 compressed natural gas (CNG) refueling stations. The other fuel types (biodiesel, liquefied natural gas (LNG) and hydrogen) altogether have less than 1,000 stations nationwide.

Alternative Fueling Stations by Fuel Type, 1995-2015

Graph showing alternative fueling stations by futel type (E85, CNG, Biodiesel, Hydrogen, LNG, Propane, and Electric) from 1995 to 2015.

Fact #920 Dataset

Supporting Information

Alternative Fueling Stations by Fuel Type, 1995-2015
Year	Electric	Propane	LNG	Hydrogen	Biodiesel	CNG	E85	Total
1995	188	3,299	n/a	n/a	n/a	1,065	37	4,589
1996	194	4,252	72	n/a	n/a	1,419	68	6,005
1997	310	4,255	71	n/a	n/a	1,426	71	6,133
1998	486	5,318	66	n/a	n/a	1,268	40	7,178
1999	490	4,153	46	n/a	n/a	1,267	49	6,005
2000	558	3,268	44	n/a	2	1,217	113	5,202
2001	693	3,403	44	n/a	16	1,232	154	5,542
2002	873	3,431	36	7	79	1,166	149	5,741
2003	830	3,966	62	7	142	1,035	188	6,230
2004	671	3,689	58	9	176	917	200	5,720
2005	588	2,995	40	14	304	787	436	5,164
2006	465	2,619	37	17	459	732	762	5,091
2007	442	2,371	35	32	742	721	1,208	5,551
2008	430	2,175	38	46	645	778	1,644	5,756
2009	465	2,468	36	63	679	772	1,928	6,411
2010	541	2,647	39	58	644	841	2,142	6,912
2011	3,394	2,597	45	56	627	910	2,442	10,071
2012	13,392	2,654	59	58	675	1,107	2,553	20,498
2013	19,410	2,956	81	53	757	1,263	2,639	27,159
2014	25,602	2,931	103	51	783	1,495	2,840	33,805
2015	30,945	3,594	111	39	721	1,563	2,990	39,963
Notes: Starting in 2011, electric charge equipment was counted by the plug rather than by the geographical location. This is different than other fuels, which only count the geographical location regardless of how many dispensers or nozzles are on site. Stations selling low-level biodiesel blends (less than B20) are included in the station listing only for the years 2005-2007. Total is the total number of fuel types sold at stations. Stations are counted once for each type of fuel sold. Acronyms: n/a: Data not available CNG: Compressed natural gas E85: 85% ethanol, 15% gasoline LNG: Liquefied natural gas B20: 20% biodiesel, 80% petroleum diesel Source: U.S. Department of Energy, Alternative Fuels Data Center, Alternative Fueling Station Counts by State, website accessed February 2016.

Return to 2016 Facts of the Week