The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) said that the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Alternative Fuels Data Center (AFDC) database severely under-represents the number of stations selling E85.

RFA says it uncovered nearly 1,000 missing stations as it compared the 2,391 stations found in the database as of 22 July 2014 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,

In a letter sent to the DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy, the RFA illustrates the central role of the database in crucial policy decisions, stating, “EPA’s mistaken belief that existing E85 refueling infrastructure is insufficient to distribute the 2014 RFS volumes specified in the statute is based in large part on information from the AFDC. As a result, the Agency wrongly proposed to reduce required renewable fuel blending volumes in 2014.”

Dinneen stressed the urgent need for updated, accurate information as the EPA decides the final 2014 RFS blending requirements.

Accurate data is the foundation of well informed decisions. The so-called ‘blend wall’—the level at which oil companies claim they can no longer blend ethanol into gasoline—can be scaled through increased use of E85. Therefore, an accurate accounting of E85 stations distributing low-cost, renewable fuels is vital to informing the debate over RFS implementation.