Energy Consumption for Transportation in Montana
The charts and statistics on this page show historical trends for fuel consumption for transportation in Montana and the increasing importance of alternative fuels produced from renewable energy resources. You can link to the following graphs on this page:
| State size (square miles) | 145,552 |
|---|---|
| State rank | 4 |
| Percent of Montana population living in urban areas | 33.7% |
|---|---|
| State rank for percent urban population | 48 |
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 Montana
The relatively flat shape of this graph shows the strong correlation between population size and gasoline consumption.
Motor Gasoline Consumption per Capita 1980 - 2005
(gallons)
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, including a ranking by state of motor gasoline prices and expenditures (PDF 20 KB). Download Adobe Reader. Note that 2005 is the latest year for which state-by-state data are available from EIA.
| Montana per capita consumption of motor gasoline in 2005 (gallons) |
528 |
|---|---|
| U.S. per capita consumption (gallons) | 475 |
| State rank | 18 |
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. EPAct establishes a requirement for blending 7.5 billion gallons of ethanol into motor gasoline by 2012. The requirement begins September 1, 2007, and has several interim goals before 2012. Read a summary of the standard published by EERE in a September 2007 news story.
Ethanol Consumption 1980 - 2005
(gallons)
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 must contribute 1 billion gallons to the nation's fuel mix in 2012. Read a summary of the 2007 Energy Act published by EERE in a January 2008 news story.
Source: EIA SEDS database.
| Montana consumption of ethanol in 2005 (gallons) |
1,436,628 |
|---|---|
| Percent of U.S. ethanol consumption | 0.0% |
| State rank | 35 |
Alternative Fuel Fueling Stations in Montana
Ethanol E85 Stations in Montana
1992 - 2007
Biodiesel Stations in Montana
1992 - 2007
Alternative Fuel Stations of all types in Montana 1992 - 2007
Alternative fuels represent one of the best ways to reduce petroleum imports for transportation fuels. Alternative fuels include biodiesel, electricity, ethanol, hydrogen, natural gas, and propane. As of 2007, the DOE Clean Cities Program reported that alternative fuels had displaced more than 1 billion gallons of petroleum.
Clean Cities has supported development of infrastructure for alternative fuel vehicles. Clean Cities works with local coalitions, which coordinate their activities closely with state energy offices.
Source: The DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Alternative Fuel Data Center. Note that EIA publishes an estimated number of alternative fuel vehicles in use in the United States that is organized by state.
| Ethanol (E85) stations in Montana in 2007 | 1 |
|---|---|
| Percent of national total | 0.1% |
| State rank | 38 |
| Biodiesel stations in Montana | 4 |
|---|---|
| Percent of national total | 0.5% |
| State rank | 36 |
| Alternative fuel stations of all types in Montana in 2007 | 36 |
|---|---|
| Percent of U.S. alternative fuel stations | 0.7% |
| Percent of all Montana fuel stations | 4.9% |
| State rank | 11 |
