Launched in 2021, the Biden administration’s Sustainable Aviation Fuel Grand Challenge aims to produce enough low-carbon jet fuel to slash aviation emissions in half by 2050. Thanks to new incentives created by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), that goal appears much more attainable than it did two years ago, but getting there will require the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to take a page from the U.S. Department of Energy when it comes to following the best available science on climate modeling.Currently, farm-based feedstocks—including bioethanol and corn oil, among others—are the only viable sources of clean, renewable energy available in large enough volumes to meet projected demand for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). In fact, the U.S. ethanol industry accounts for over 80 percent of biofuel production capacity in the U.S. at 17.4 billion gallons per year.Unfortunately, a handful of interest groups have been encouraging the U.S. Treasury to decide who can earn credit for making SAF based on an emissions model used in Europe. Not only does that outdated model ignore years of data about U.S. agriculture and biofuel production—it also effectively blocks American farmers from participating in a major new market for green energy. This means that this effort to decarbonize aviation would be hugely dependent on foreign feedstocks. One of the best things about biofuels is that they increase America’s energy independence and reduce our reliance on foreign resources. Choosing this European model would effectively do the opposite.There is a better way. The DOE and Argonne National Laboratory have invested decades into building the world’s best lifecycle analysis (LCA) model for transportation emissions. It’s called the Greenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy Use in Technologies (GREET) model.GREET was created by researchers with real-world expertise examining both the domestic agricultural supply chain and the latest hard data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Environmental Protection Agency. The gold standard for lifecycle modeling, it harnesses the latest data on everything, including yield, fertilizer and agriculture inputs.In fact, several provisions of the IRA specifically require the use of GREET to calculate the benefits of other transportation fuels, such as hydrogen and non-aviation low carbon fuels. Unfortunately, the legislation didn’t offer the same clear guidance on SAF—an omission that could keep U.S. SAF production grounded for good.&nbsp;Leaders at the U.S. Treasury could easily avoid that outcome by relying on the GREET model, which would incentivize further emissions reductions and advance the IRA’s climate goals.&nbsp;As Growth Energy noted in our letter to the IRS this July, “When implementing the Section 40B and 45Z SAF tax credits, IRS must ensure LCA methodologies used for calculation of credits reflect the best available science so as to incentivize increased production of low carbon-intensity SAF in order to further Congress’ core objective of accelerating the reduction of GHG emissions from the U.S transportation system. Implementing the statute in this matter is critical to the decarbonization and continued economic competitiveness of the U.S. aviation sector."In short, it would be climate malpractice to anchor our SAF ambitions to outdated, foreign models that disregard U.S. innovations in biofuel production and climate-smart agriculture and tie U.S.-based carbon incentives to inaccurate foreign carbon models. The biofuels industry is already lowering carbon emissions, reducing our reliance on foreign oil, saving drivers money at the pump, and creating new American jobs. And by following the best available science, bioethanol can clear the way for America’s bioeconomy to deliver even greater progress toward low carbon aviation.&nbsp;Author: Emily Skor CEO, Growth Energy 202.545.4000 eskor@growthenergy.org Published in the 2023 September issue of Ethanol Producer Magazine

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The SAF tax credit created by the Inflation Reduction Act currently relies on a lifecycle emissions model used in Europe that ignores the reality of American agriculture. Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor calls on the IRS to adopt U.S. DOE’s GREET model, which harnesses actual data on U.S. agricultural practices.  

IRS to Decide the Future of Low-Carbon Aviation

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Upcoming Events

2025 International Fuel Ethanol Workshop & Expo

Carbon Capture & Storage Summit

Sustainable Fuels Summit: Sustainable Aviation Fuel & Renewable Diesel

North American SAF Conference & Expo

IRS to Decide the Future of Low-Carbon Aviation