Conventional and Alternative Fuel Prices

The Department of Energy's Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report is a quarterly report that tracks prices for conventional and alternative fuels in the U.S. The graph below shows the nationwide average price for each fuel type in blue. The red bars in the graph show the nationwide average price on an energy-equivalent basis adjusted to a Gasoline-Gallon Equivalent (GGE). The relationship between actual per unit fuel cost and energy-equivalent cost shows the comparable cost of each fuel. Diesel is more expensive than gasoline but it contains more energy for the same unit of fuel so the GGE price for diesel is actually a little less than for gasoline. A gallon of ethanol (E85) is less expensive than a gallon of gasoline; however, E85 contains less energy and is therefore more expensive than gasoline on a GGE basis.