It is being reported that the Treasury Department may release highly-anticipated guidance on sustainable aviation fuel tax credits, possibly this week.

In anticipation of the announcement, Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Geoff Cooper said this guidance represents a “make-or-break” opportunity for the future of sustainable aviation fuels. “The Treasury guidance will go a long way in determining whether U.S. farmers and ethanol producers are able to significantly contribute to the goal of decarbonizing the aviation sector, or if they’ll be left by the wayside,” said Cooper. “All we’re asking for is a fair, science-based methodology that gives us an opportunity to compete.”

Cooper says RFA hopes the guidance will include explicit and specific recognition of the Argonne GREET model as an allowable methodology for determining the carbon intensity of various SAF production pathways. “Without recognition of the GREET model, we fear commercial SAF production will simply not materialize at the scale necessary to truly decarbonize the aviation sector in the decades ahead. The ambitious goals of the Biden administration’s SAF Grand Challenge will not be realized unless we are able to tap into the vast resources of American agriculture.”