By Ryan Calkins, Port of Seattle Commissioner
In November of 2016, an Alaska Airlines 737 took off from Sea-Tac airport. Four hours later, after an unremarkable flight, the plane touched down at Washington National. To the casual observer, the flight appeared to be just one more of the tens of thousands of commercial flights that crisscross our skies every day. But this flight was extraordinary, in that it was the first commercial flight to be fueled by sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) produced from wood waste sourced here in the Pacific Northwest. The flight was a test of viability for the future of SAF, and it was a resounding success.
The benefits of SAF are essential to fight climate change, since aviation emissions represent 2% of GHG emissions worldwide, and are projected to increase between now and 2050, even while other forms of transportation emissions decrease. SAF have the potential to reduce lifecycle GHG emissions by as much as 80%. And while they don’t represent a complete transition away from GHG emissions, they are a viable means of transition to emission free technologies in aviation that are still decades or generations away. At the same time, locally produced aviation fuels, using agricultural and appropriately sourced forestry waste stocks, insources the fuel economy to our state. In other words, rather than spending billions of dollars a year to import fossil fuels, we can spend those dollars to buy our energy from our farmers, foresters and waste managers.
In the last three years, we at the Port of Seattle have spearheaded efforts to make SAF a viable alternative to fossil fuels for aviation. In early 2018 we set a goal of 10% sustainable aviation fuels for all flights originating from Sea-Tac by 2028. This is a lofty goal: 10% is 80 million gallons or roughly 40 times total current SAF production in the world.
So how do we go from 0 to 80 million gallons in ten years? The key is to make these SAF financially viable for the consumers, the airlines whose flights originate from Sea-Tac. The good news is we’ve already reduced the cost of SAF from roughly $300/gallon on that first Alaska flight to roughly $10/gallon. But reducing the cost by another six or so dollars, to compete against fossil fuels, requires a strong market signal to engender mass production of SAF here in Washington state. The signal that we need is the passage of a statewide Clean Fuels Standard (CFS). And now is the time. Thanks to the pioneering efforts of Representative Joe Fitzgibbon and Governor Jay Inslee, our state legislature is considering a CFS this session.
With a statewide CFS, and the agreement already signed by airlines representing more than 80% of flights at Sea-Tac including Alaska and Delta, we can meet the goal of 10% SAF by 2028. The bill is poised to pass the state House, and now we are working with state Senate leaders to ensure it gets to the governor’s desk for signing. The Port of Seattle Commission has made CFS our highest priority for the 2019 legislative session and we hope that you will join us in advocating for this critical legislation.