Energy Consumption by Transportation Fuel in Texas
For transportation, the charts and statistics below show historical trends for fuel consumption in Texas and the increasing importance of alternative fuels produced from renewable energy resources. Statistics include the following:
| State size (square miles) | 261,797 |
|---|---|
| State rank | 2 |
| Percent of Texas population living in urban areas | 84.2% |
|---|---|
| State rank for percent urban population | 14 |
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 Texas
The relatively flat shape of this graph shows the strong correlation between population size and gasoline consumption.
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.
| Texas per capita consumption of motor gasoline in 2010 (gallons) |
490 |
|---|---|
| U.S. per capita consumption (gallons) | 446 |
| State rank | 21 |
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. Under the Energy Act of 2007, Congress required that 36 billion gallons of ethanol be blended into the gasoline supply by 2022. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is responsible for administering the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard.
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.
| Texas consumption of ethanol in 2010 (gallons) |
1,086,708,000 |
|---|---|
| Percent of U.S. ethanol consumption | 30.6% |
| State rank | 2 |