Sustainable aviation fuel -- or SAF -- might be the ticket to a greener future
but major investments in infrastructure are needed to make it a reality. Who will pay for it is the billion-dollar question.
The Puget Sound regions two largest passenger airlines and its largest cargo jet operator are embracing a new kind of fuel as politicians and environmentalists sharpen their focus on the role that jet emissions play in climate change.
Alaska Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Amazon Air are moving to fill some airplanes with a new, potentially greener kind of gas, called sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). Boeing says all its planes will use the stuff exclusively by 2030.
Right now, however, airlines and jet makers cant buy enough SAF, which is made from various things like municipal waste, forest floor cuttings and other plants grown for that purpose, and later blended in with traditional jet fuel.
The passage of a lower carbon-fuels standard bill in Washington state coupled with federal initiatives aim to bolster production and use of biofuels. Backers say this will generate hundreds of millions of dollars in new investments and what Sea-Tac Airport dubs green-collar jobs.
https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2021/07/10/how-airlines-jet-makers-are-pursuing-green-future.html