Nov. 1 Update: Sustainable Aviation Fuel Industry Leaders Call on Biden Administration to Immediately Recognize Argonne GREET Model
Last year’s Inflation Reduction Act created tax credits meant to stimulate the production and use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), a critical tool in the aviation sector’s decarbonization strategy. To qualify for the tax credits, SAF must reduce lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50% compared to conventional jet fuel.
RFA and many others—including airlines, SAF producers, farm groups, members of Congress and university researchers—have argued that the Department of Treasury should finalize its guidance for the tax credit by recognizing the Department of Energy’s GREET model as a “similar methodology” to the referenced model (established by the United Nations’ International Civil Aviation Organization, or ICAO), for the purposes of determining SAF carbon intensity. While the DOE GREET model uses current information about crop and ethanol production, the ICAO model uses significantly outdated information,
- August 22 RFA blog post, SAF modeling debate isn’t really about “GREET vs. ICAO.” It’s about current data vs. old data
- August 17 essay in RealClear Energy by RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper, Putting the ‘S’ in ‘SAF:’ Innovation Takes Farmers and Ethanol to New Heights
- August 31 essay in RealClear Energy by former U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan, The Sustainable Aviation Fuel Road Ahead
- RFA has developed the chart below, explaining the key differences between the DOE GREET approach and the ICAO approach. In the end, the SAF modeling debate shouldn’t be characterized as “GREET vs. ICAO.” It’s really more about current data vs. old data. Click here for the original PDF document.
