DOE database underepresenting E85 stations, according to RFA

In Washington, E85 stations in the Department of Energy’s Alternative Fuels Data Center database are vastly underrepresented, according to a release published by the Renewable Fuels Association. RFA implored DOE to accurately account for all stations selling E85 in a letter to the DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy. RFA uncovered nearly 1,000 missing stations as it compared the 2,391 stations found in the database on Tuesday to the 3,349 retail locations found on the “crowd-sourced” website E85prices.com.

“The AFDC database is way off in its reporting of E85 stations, and this is negatively influencing discussions over the 2014 Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) blending requirements. It isn’t just a handful of stations that are missing; we are talking about the exclusion of hundreds of stations nationwide. In fact, they missed 40 percent of the stations that are included in other databases! That’s simply unacceptable,” said Bob Dinneen, president and CEO of the RFA.

To read the letter.