Tensions Rise Over US SAF Subsidies Spat

Tom Pleasant August 03, 2023
Credit: A cornfield in Minas Gerais, Brazil. Photo by Flickr user BongoInc

An arcane accounting argument between federal departments, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) producers and environmental groups is set to hobble SAF production in the US for years to come.

The disagreement is over whether SAF derived from agricultural crops, instead of waste byproducts,

should qualify for tax credits. Converting land for biofuel production can cause carbon emissions even as the use of biofuel reduces emissions elsewhere.

There are two accounting methodologies for determining whether a SAF is sufficiently sustainable: the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA), and Greenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy use in Transportation (GREET).

The Department of the Treasury, supported by environmental groups, currently employs CORSIA to determine tax credits, whereas the Department of Energy and SAF producers prefer the more lenient GREET approach. A group of senators, led by Sen. Tammy Duckworth, has written to the Treasury and co-sponsored a bill to advocate for federal departments to use GREET multilaterally.

Through the SAF Grand Challenge, the government wants industry to produce enough SAF to fuel all flights by 2050. However, the government’s support has been limited.

The Treasury Department took nearly a year to issue comprehensive guidance on qualifying SAF feedstocks and technologies for tax credits, a scheme that will expire by the end of 2024. Without an extension, the US SAF industry faces a looming deadline to receive the necessary boost for substantial growth.

Tom Pleasant

Tom Pleasant has been an aviation journalist and editor since 2008. He has been the Group Deputy editor for A-Z Media Group, editor of Air Cargo News…

Comments

2 Comments
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Fri, 08/04/2023 - 17:34
It seems you can always rely on bureaucrats to make simple things complicated.
Acsi importunus iustum nobis quae qui sed valetudo. Accumsan aliquip ea enim gravis iusto olim saluto ut. Distineo ea feugiat jus sagaciter tego. Abigo autem exerci gravis pagus praemitto.
Sat, 08/05/2023 - 12:31
What does it mean SAF is derived from agricultural crops?
Agriculture is meant to feed the population and not to produce oil. There is no way to convert land for biofuel production. If aviation uses land crops for fueling their jets, I promise you that there will be all over the world tons of violent demonstrations against flying, nothing to compare with the present "Flight Shame" and civil aviation will never recover from it. Therefore, civil aviation watch out, your future is in your hands and not in the hands of politicians, and know what you should NEVER do.
Bernard GUILLAUME