Infrastructure Issues: Refueling

23 April 2004

One of the key issues for supporting a transition to alternative fuels is the availability of fueling stations. The Department of Energy provides a look at the infrastructure for this in the US as of 2002.

This table does not include hybrids such as the Prius as an alternative fuel vehicle since the primary fuel is gasoline.

The number of conventional gas stations is in decline while the number of vehicles using those stations continues to climb. In 2001, there were 0.79 fueling stations per 1,000 vehicles. For alternative fuels in 2001, there was an average of 10.91 stations per thousand alternative fuel vehicles.

I’m not certain of the economics of the retail fuel station business, but it sure looks like there is a short-term overcapacity given the actual numbers of alt vehicles on the road that would make it a tough prospect for an independent, and a non-starter for a major just from a P&L point of view.

Absent from this table too is where biodiesel sits.

But in looking at this, the relative magnitude of Schwarzenegger’s push for 200 H₂ stations becomes a little more clear.