New Legislation Sets Policy Menu for Sustainable Aviation Fuels | Article

As the aviation industry recovers from the severe contraction caused by the pandemic, sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) will be essential to help the sector achieve a path to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Sustainable “drop-in” fuels, which can be used with existing fueling infrastructure and with no changes required for aircraft fuel systems or engines, are currently being deployed. However, SAF currently accounts for less than one percent of U.S. and global commercial aviation fuel consumption. In 2019, the U.S. commercial aviation industry consumed 18.3 billion gallons of jet fuel (taking into account both domestic and international scheduled traffic) and used approximately 2.4 million gallons of SAF.

Sustainable aviation fuels (SAF): In the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Act (H.R. 8769), SAF are defined as fuels synthesized from non-petroleum sources that meet Department of Defense military jet fuel specifications or international ASTM standards for commercial use. The legislation requires SAF to have at least 50 percent lower life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions than petroleum-based fuel. The SAF must conform to International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards or provisions defining advanced biofuels under the Clean Air Act. The fuel can be produced from a variety of feedstocks that are sources of carbon, such as plant materials, municipal solid waste, or cooking waste fats, oils, and greases.

On November 18, Representative Julia Brownley (D-Calif.) introduced the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Act (H.R. 8769). The bill, described by Rep. Brownley during a recent EESI aviation briefing, establishes a national goal for the U.S. aviation sector of a net 35 percent reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2035 and net-zero domestic and international aviation emissions by 2050. To help meet these goals, the bill promotes the development, distribution, and use of SAFs, which can reduce life-cycle GHG aviation emissions by up to 80 percent.

According to Chris Tindal of the Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative (CAAFI), policy support is an essential tool to create the rapid scale-up of the SAF industry, and Rep. Brownley’s bill provides a set of proposals to drive the growth of this carbon reduction strategy. The bill would direct the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to continue its research of aviation’s contribution to climate change and investigate ways to reduce the sector’s climate impact and increase the use of SAF. The Departments of Energy and Agriculture would be authorized to study the use of cover crops as feedstocks, which could potentially produce co-benefits, such as generating revenue for farmers while helping protect and restore the soil and improve its carbon absorption.

To increase SAF production and support logistics, the bill provides grant funding of $1 billion over five years for “projects in the U.S. to produce, transport, blend, or store SAF.” Almost the entire U.S. SAF production is at a World Energy Paramount facility in California. Two additional plants are expected to begin SAF production in 2021, and four others are planned to start operation in 2022 – 2023. The bill's grant funding could help scale up production and deployment infrastructure at a faster pace.

The proposed legislation would also incentivize the production of sustainable aviation fuel by setting emission standards. The bill would require the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish an aviation-only low carbon fuel standard (LCFS) and a blender’s tax credit. The LCFS would regulate aviation fuel producers and importers by requiring EPA to set annual benchmarks of carbon (CO2) intensity reduction to reach 20 percent lower intensity by 2030 and a 50 percent reduction by 2050, as compared to the average carbon intensity of all aviation fuel used in the United States in 2005. A blender’s tax credit would be set between $1.50 and $1.75 per gallon based on the life-cycle GHG emissions of the sustainable aviation fuel. Sustainable fuels with 50 percent lower life-cycle emissions than conventional petroleum-based fuel would receive the $1.50 per gallon credit and SAF achieving 100 percent GHG reduction would receive the $1.75 per gallon credit. The credit is adjusted on a sliding scale as the GHG reduction is measured between 50 and 100 percent. The legislation provides an additional SAF market stimulus by requiring at least 10 percent of the aviation fuel purchased by the military to be U.S. produced sustainable fuel beginning in 2024. The SAF must be cost-competitive with conventional fuel for this purchase requirement to be met.

The Sustainable Aviation Fuel Act also addresses important non-CO2 related concerns with aviation emissions. The bill directs the FAA to study the climate impact of contrails, which derive from the combination of water vapor and particulates in aircraft emissions. In the right atmospheric conditions, contrails expand into cirrus clouds that can have a greater warming effect than CO2. The FAA is tasked with developing a method of life-cycle analysis of non-CO2 climate impacts, including an assessment of the benefits of SAF beyond reducing CO2 emissions.

Aviation is an especially challenging sector to decarbonize. The deployment of sustainable aviation fuels is an emission reduction strategy working today that must be rapidly scaled up to help the industry do its share in limiting the worst effects of climate change.

The Sustainable Aviation Fuel Act in Brief:

H.R. 8769

Introduced by Rep. Julia Brownley (D-Calif.)

Sets a national goal for U.S. aviation of a net 35 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to 2005 levels by 2035 and net-zero emissions for the sector by 2050.
Directs the Federal Aviation Administration to research aviation’s contribution to climate change and study strategies for reducing the sector’s climate impact and increasing the use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
Directs the Departments of Energy and Agriculture to research cover crops as SAF feedstocks.
Authorizes $1 billion in grant funding over five years for “projects in the U.S. to produce, transport, blend, or store SAF.”
Directs the Environmental Protection Agency to establish an aviation-only low carbon fuel standard (LCFS), to be published one year after the bill's passage, and to come into force the following year. The legislation requires the overall aviation fuel market to be at least 20 percent less carbon-intense compared to 2005 levels by 2030 and at least 50 percent less by 2050.
Establishes a blender’s tax credit of $1.50 per gallon for sustainable aviation fuel that has 50 percent lower life-cycle emissions compared to conventional jet fuel. The credit increases on a scale up to $1.75 per gallon for SAF that achieves 100 percent lower life-cycle emissions.
Directs the Department of Defense to purchase SAF equal to at least 10 percent of its annual aviation fuel requirement beginning in Fiscal Year 2024, providing the cost is competitive with conventional fuel.

Author: Jeff Overton