Airport Experience® News - ACDBE 2023

SUS TA INABIL I T Y SPOTL IGHT

Incentives Are Key The ef fect of SFO’s SAF ef forts is undeniable: “The airport now leads the world in SAF deliveries with six million gallons delivered in the past fiscal year, a figure we expect to double this year,” Satero says. “SAF now accounts for 6 percent of all fuel delivered to our airport and we’re targeting a volume of 10 percent by 2025.” In March 2021, Airlines For America (A4A) member car r iers made an ambitious commitment to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, and A4A and the U.S. government continue to work together to reduce aviation emissions further through strong public-private partnerships aimed at meeting the ambitious goal to make 3 billion gallons of SAF available to U.S. aircraft operators in 2030. To help meet this goal, the $740 billon Inflation Reduction Act that was passed in August 2022 includes tax credits of between $1.25 and $1.75 per gallon for airlines’ SAF purchases. Satero believes that incentives like this will be key to making SAF the reality it needs to be to truly transform the aviation industry. “The same parity that we sought in the state of California is inching closer as a coalition, co-led by SFO, is pushing our state to adopt legislation to further increase SAF incentives to ref lect its broader air quality and economic development benefits,” Satero says. “But California can’t do it alone, and we need to see broader incentives before SAF can be commercially available at scale.” Despite these obstacles, there continues to be interest in SAF throughout the industry, as more airlines sign agreements to receive SAF and companies like Mahoney Environmental and Neste aim to make the transition smoother and economically sound for airports. “We remain confident that we’ll be able to achieve our goal to reach 10 percent SAF by 2025, and we hope that other airports across the country will be able set goals that help their own level of SAF activity take off,” Satero says. “Our experience has demonstrated that an industry coalition, combined with the support of public policymakers, can deliver a power ful solution to decarbonize our industry.”

“Early on, our working group recognized the pivotal role that public policy plays in scaling renewable energy markets such as wind, solar and biofuels for ground transportation, and that, similarly, public policy could create an environment that would allow SAF to become more widely available,” Satero notes. With this in mind, the working group led advocacy efforts with the California Air Resources Board. These efforts resulted in the expansion of the California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) to offer the opt-in inclusion of SAF, and since January 2019 the LCFS has offered an incentive of approximately $1.25 per gallon for SAF over conventional fuel. “By leveling the playing field between conventional fossil-based aviation fuel and a sustainable alternative, this incentive has made the state of California the world’s most competitive market for SAF,” Satero says. “This also encouraged fuel suppliers like Neste to deliver SAF directly into our airport via pipeline, just like conventional jet fuel.”

Above: Since 2017 San Francisco International Airport has been working to expand the availability, incentives and infrastructure for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) both in California and nationwide. The airport now leads the world in SAF deliveries (pictured) with six million gallons delivered in the past fiscal year—a figure the airport expects to double this year.

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