Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Hydrogen, Natural Gas, Green Daily
DOE's alternative fuel national locator map now available
The U.S. Department of Energy today took the wraps off of an online Alternative Fuel Station Locator that should make it a bit easier to find the right fuel if you need something other than gasoline or diesel. Just put in your address, the fuel you're looking for, how wide a radius you'd like the database to include and presto. Instant results. As I still drive a gasoline-powered car (an efficient one, mind you), I can't personally judge the accuracy of the information for local pumps, but if you're knowledgeable about these sorts of things, give the online station locator a test and see how it does. The DOE's map includes pumps/stations that offer:
- Biodiesel (B20 and above)
- Compressed Natural Gas
- Electric
- Ethanol (E85)
- Hydrogen
- Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)
- Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Propane)
The database should be fairy accurate, as the DOE gathers it's information "from trade media, Clean Cities coordinators, and the submittal form on the AFDC Web site." Then, each station is contacted twice a year to make sure the fuel listed is still available at the site. Happy hunting.
[Source: DOE]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Phil L. 1:52PM (7/07/2008)
The site nicely combines a lot of info.
But beware: It doesn't include any details for the entries. For example, I just looked at E85 sources in my area. The DOE site listed several that I'm familiar with: They have E85, but are government entities that don't sell fuel to the general public. This critical information is missing from the DOE listings.
Reply
wave54 2:42PM (7/07/2008)
Absolutely right -- I get lots of hits, but it's the state DOT or town garages for E85, United Technologies Fuel Cell Division for hydrogen and some peoples' driveways for electricity from an outlet on a tree next to the green van (you can't miss it).
Doug 1:53PM (7/07/2008)
It would be nice if network connected GPS systems could access this data base.
Reply
BlackbirdHighway 1:53PM (7/07/2008)
Hmm, no hydrogen or electric within 1000 miles of my location. Plenty of E85 and B20 though.
Reply
meme 2:02PM (7/07/2008)
Can anyone get it to return EV charging stations? I can't.
You can browse EV charging stations, but they've just basically ripped off EVChargerNews/EVChargerMaps's database. And there's no apparent way to add yourself in as a charging station.
I'll pass.
Reply
Kfleming 2:11PM (7/07/2008)
E85 will probably have the most stations at first, considering for about $400 you can convert your car to run on it...
http://www.thegreenmotorist.com/index.php/convert-your-vehicle-to-run-on-e85-for-400/
However in the end obviously hydrogen is going to win and so it would really help if there were more hydrogen stations around, there are none close to me either=(
Reply
Doug 2:44PM (7/07/2008)
If you click on details for a particular location, there's a line labeled "Type of Access". These can be public, private, or planned. If you click "Advanced Options" you can search including this criteria.
http://eere.energy.gov/afdc/stations/advanced.php
Doug 2:49PM (7/07/2008)
Sorry, this was meant to be a reply to post #1.
Arcti Focus. 2:28PM (7/07/2008)
Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Propane) is in 10 miles from my location.
Reply
Phil L. 3:50PM (7/07/2008)
Doug -
Thanks for pointing out the details link and advanced search!
Reply
Joseph 11:53PM (7/07/2008)
This website has been around for many years. Was it updated or something?
Reply