Biofuel groups call on lawmakers to fix SAF legislation

A group of nine biofuel and ag groups are calling lawmakers to fix major flaws in pending legislation that they say could leave American farmers and biofuel producers cut out of the sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) market.

The letter, addressed to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, asks that the current legislative proposals to encourage SAF under consideration for inclusion in the budget reconciliation and FY 22 National Defense Authorization Act be amended to rely on the most updated and accurate science-based lifecycle carbon assessment (LCA) methods and to permit the use of SAF derived from agricultural feedstocks.

“Numerous members of our respective organizations are poised to produce SAF or sustainable feedstocks for SAF,” wrote the ag and biofuel groups. “Many others are working toward participation in the full value chain in the relatively near future. Because biomass feedstocks are essential SAF sources, it is imperative that tax credits and other programs properly account for the lifecycle emissions of these sources and the petroleum products these new fuels will replace.”

As written, the legislation would exclude SAF derived from agricultural feedstocks from incentive programs. As a result, the groups say SAF blend stock from Brazil, Singapore and elsewhere will be subsidized by U.S. taxpayers, while U.S. producers and farmers are shut out.

The letter also specifically criticizes the lifecycle emissions modeling requirements included in the legislation and calls for lawmakers to require the use of the U.S. Department of Energy’s GREET model.

The letter is signed by the Advanced Biofuels Business Council, the American Farm Bureau Federation, the American Soybean Association, Growth Energy, the National Biodiesel Board, National Corn Growers Association, National Farmers Union, National Sorghum Producers and Renewable Fuels Association. A full copy of the letter is available on the RFA website.