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Ag economist says uncertainty surrounds future of sustainable aviation fuel

An ag economist says there’s still some uncertainty surrounding the future of sustainable aviation fuels.

Jacqui Fatka with CoBank tells Brownfield…

“I think we’re hoping for a short term fix, especially as we see the corn and soybean prices, where we are, it’s going to take some time, and we’re going to have to have incentives and investment at several different levels throughout the chain to make that work.”

The industry is waiting for guidance from the U.S. Treasury on the clean fuel production tax credit. Fatka says there are other potential solutions if that doesn’t occur.

“There’s a couple bills out there now, extending the biodiesel tax credit, or you could see a safe harbor, which would allow, basically, the agency to use a Greek model that is known today, and then if they need to retroactively fix it,” she says.

She says it’s also unclear what level of support SAF will have from the Trump administration, as the tax credit is part of the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act.

“It’s hard to predict anything in this next administration, but we do know that there’s bipartisan support and so how hard they fight for that is what we’re going to be watching,” she says.

Brownfield interviewed Fatka at the National Association of Farm Broadcasting convention in Kansas City.

AUDIO: Jacqui Fatka, CoBank