News

One Earth Energy CEO all in on SAF

The CEO of a central Illinois ethanol plant says sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) can be the next big boon for corn farmers.

Steven Kelly, with One Earth Energy in Gibson City, says the ethanol industry is finding ways to lower its carbon intensity scores for a way into the SAF marketplace.

“If we’re successful in sequestering the CO2, then we can take and reduce our footprint by about 75% of the CO2 that we emit into the atmosphere today,” he says.

He tells Brownfield the airline industry is also searching for ways to lower carbon emissions.

“I think that ethanol is positioned well with the amount of volume that we produce.”  He says, “We produce about 15 billion gallons today. The aviation industry is endorsing ethanol to move quickly their direction to help supply them.”

Kelly says the company’s subsidiary, One Earth Sequestration, plans to utilize Illinois’ geography to sequester carbon produced by the plant.  He says the state’s major airports and new SAFE CCS Act set it up to be a leader in the industry.

“That gives direction to several agencies in the state of Illinois now to work with industry,” he says.

Kelly says more will be known about ethanol’s future in the SAF market when the US Treasury Department releases its 45Z tax credit information later this year.

AUDIO: Steven Kelly – One Earth Energy