Renewable jet fuel, more commonly referred to as sustainable aviation fuel—SAF for short—is the charismatic megafauna of the fuels world. Like polar bears or whales in conservation, it punches far above its weight in making people care. That matters a lot for motivating supportive policies.
We continue to see the fruits of that concern across the U.S. and the world, particularly in areas that otherwise aren’t particularly inspired by either liquid fuels in general (EVs continue to be a singular hill to die on in certain quarters, and biofuels a dirty word) or diversifying away from petroleum in transportation (thanks to the enduring siren song of ‘drill, baby, drill’). SAF-centric policies are proliferating in Europe, Asia, Australia, South America, India, and right here in the U.S.A. While the feds have backtracked on favoring SAF, legislatures in individual U.S. states, large to small and in every region, continue to consider specialized incentives to promote its production and use.
Renewable jet depends on such dedicated policies to turbocharge its potential. But it’s not enough to achieve the scale needed for mainstream adoption. Clean Fuel Standard policies are an essential complement to fill the gaps.
· To start with the obvious, Clean Fuel Standards provide the long-term policy certainty which time-limited tax credits and similar programs cannot match. That matters for investments.
· Similarly, Clean Fuel Standards are not subject to direct appropriations, which can derail even the best of intentions in a tough budget year.
· Clean Fuel Standards also establish a foundational incentive across all facility co-products used in transportation. Renewable jet fuel is never the only end product of the production process. Availability of credits for multiple product streams increases ROI potential and project investability.
· The near-term volume demand for low-carbon on-road liquid fuels inspired by Clean Fuel Standards fosters and funds the innovation needed to scale SAF as technologies advance, logistics are worked out, and economics improve.
· Because credits can be available to all transport applications, Clean Fuel Standards also provide an incentive to decarbonize ground operations, improving air quality and lowering health effects for both airport workers and surrounding communities.
By all means, incentives should support specific technologies to advance policy interests. But for the notoriously difficult-to-decarbonize transportation sector in particular, nothing can surpass the complementary, fundamental effectiveness of all of the above.