what ’ s working tax incentives , which aim to reduce costs for SAF manufacturers and buyers . It ’ s an opportunity for businesses to help launch a new industry and meet soaring demand .
Airlines are scaling up SAF purchases as they work to cut carbon emissions and reach net-zero by 2050 . Alaska Airlines , Delta and other airlines want to fuel 10 % of their operations with SAF by 2030 , and to meet that goal , Delta would need 400 million gallons a year , Dana Debel , managing director of state and local government affairs for Delta , told lawmakers at the hearing in February .
Meanwhile , Boeing has committed to delivering aircraft ready to fly on 100 % SAF by 2030 . The International Air Transport Association estimates that global SAF production tripled in 2022 , reaching more than 79 million gallons , but will need to massively scale up to nearly 120 billion gallons to achieve net-zero by 2050 .
The U . S . alone would need to boost SAF production to 3 billion gallons a year , and it ’ s estimated that U . S . firms produced only about 4.5 million gallons in 2021 , according to the White House
SAF is about twice as expensive as traditional jet fuel and the state ’ s new policies aim to lower the pricetag . “ The cost and the supply barriers today are prohibitive to reach the goals we have set ,” Diana Birkett Rakow , senior vice president of public affairs and sustainability at Alaska Airlines , testified .
Other low-carbon or zero-carbon technologies like hydrogen fuel cell and electric airplanes are progressing , with promising breakthroughs for smaller , regional flights . But they are not expected to be commercially ready for larger aircraft and longer flights for several decades .
Aviation accounts for just 2 % of global emissions , but the sector has fewer options to cut emissions than other modes of transport , said Corinne Drennan , who oversees
“ I think the Pacific Northwest is an ideal place to stand up manufacturing of sustainable aviation fuels . You ’ ve got Boeing , you ’ ve got airlines , you ’ ve got a national lab , and WSU .”
— Corinne Drennan , who manages the bioenergy programs at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
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