Securing Illinois agriculture’s role in SAF markets
The mission: We continue to engage with federal regulations around sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and IFB is actively working to ensure incentives around SAF production benefit biofuel producers who source feedstocks from the U.S.
The challenge: The current 40B tax credit for SAF and biofuel production includes roadblocks for farmers as it requires a bundle of specific climate-smart practices for SAF feedstocks to qualify. This rigid guidance opens the door for ethanol made from foreign feedstocks to have favorable treatment over domestic corn ethanol as an SAF feedstock.
The opportunity: The U.S. Treasury Department is drafting guidance around the future 45Z tax credit for SAF and biofuel production, presenting a chance for U.S.-grown feedstocks to qualify via flexible and voluntary climate-smart programs and practices.
Without proper guidance backing U.S. farmers and domestic feedstocks, producers risk losing out a $2 billion-per-year market. I previously detailed that market opportunity and the policy needed to reach it in this op-ed that published in FarmWeek.
IFB’s impact: IFB policy opposes the use of federal renewable fuel tax incentives for imported renewable fuels or renewable fuels produced with imported agricultural commodities.
I submitted IFB comments to USDA around the 45Z guidance, answering more than 20 questions and pushing for the use of domestic feedstocks for biofuel production.
Members on the Leaders to Washington trip advocated for more flexibility in the 45Z guidance, and explained to federal lawmakers why the GREET model should be used to measure the full lifecycle emissions of biofuels and to calculate individual farm emissions.
The IAA Board of Directors in July also toured the Marquis Industrial Complex in Hennepin to get an inside-look at the infrastructure and processes involved in producing SAF from soybean oil and other biofuels made from Illinois-grown feedstocks.
