The following opinion piece was first published in the Washington Times. You can view it here.
Farmers feed the nation and the world, and with new technology and innovation, farmers will fuel flight as well.
Sustainable aviation fuel, also known as SAF, is a biofuel made from products like corn, sorghum and soybeans that can be used in aircraft and produce fewer greenhouse gas emissions than traditional fuels.
SAF is the future of biofuels and combines some of the most important industries in my state aviation and agriculture.
Agriculture is Kansas’s largest economic driver, contributing over $81 billion to the state’s economy. Kansas farmers produce an excess of corn, soybeans and grain sorghum that all have numerous potential uses, including Sustainable Aviation Fuel.
Kansas is also home to Wichita, the Air Capital of the World, where thousands of airplanes and aircraft parts are manufactured every year.
In partnership with SAFFiRE Renewables and Southwest Airlines, Kansas will also soon break ground on a facility that will process corn stover for the production of renewable ethanol, which will then be converted into SAF.
This is an exciting pathway to producing high-volume, affordable SAF.
The SAF industry has the opportunity to experience tremendous growth, create more markets for our farmers and increase our domestic energy production and security, but Congress and the administration need to remove barriers that are blocking the path to success.
I introduced the Farm to Fly Act to help accelerate the production and development of sustainable aviation fuel through existing U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) programs. This legislation would allow further growth for alternative fuels to be used in the aviation sector and create new markets for American farmers.
This legislation would increase the accessibility of biofuels for commercial use and directly support rural America and its farmers, the agriculture industry and the aviation sector.
Reports indicate that the global sustainable aviation fuel market size and share is expected to grow from its current market revenue of $1.1 billion to $3 billion by 2034.
Unfortunately, recent policies issued by the Biden administration are hampering the growth of the SAF industry by limiting the types of crops that can be utilized in SAF production.
To unleash the potential of the SAF industry, the Biden administration needs to finalize the 45Z tax credit so further commitments and investments can be made.
Under the guidance issued by the Department of Treasury, there won’t be enough grain feedstock to meet processing demand, and rejecting grain feedstocks is a giant leap backwards for SAF production in the U.S.
The Treasury Department’s guidance for the SAF tax credit only allows corn ethanol to qualify if the grain is grown with three practices that are considered “climate-smart:” no-till, cover crops and energy-efficient fertilizer. Soybean oil would qualify only if the soybeans were grown using no-till and cover crops on the same acreage.
The eligibility requirements are so strict that very few farmers can produce eligible feedstocks and the guidance excludes grain sorghum as an eligible feedstock.
Grain sorghum is drought-tolerant, heat-resistant and low-input all factors that contribute to its low carbon intensity (CI) score. These attributes, combined with the demand for renewable energy plants throughout the Midwest, make grain sorghum a great candidate to produce sustainable and climate-smart energy products.
Today, only a small percentage of producers meet Treasury’s eligibility requirements, which severely hinders the amount of fuel that can be produced.
To bring more awareness to SAF, I am excited to announce the Senate Sustainable Aviation Caucus. Last month, the House of Representatives launched its own Sustainable Aviation Caucus, and I’m pleased to lead this effort in the Senate. SAF can unlock tremendous benefits for the economy and our farmers while offering a cleaner source of energy for aircraft and a new energy source for our nation.
The industry is poised for success. Yet achieving its full potential hinges on employing the right tools and implementing more workable regulations.
Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kansas, is the senior senator and serves as the chair of the Senate Sustainable Aviation Caucus. Sen. Moran also serves as the lead Republican on the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Aviation Safety, Operations, and Innovation and is a member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture.
