Major WA companies and organizations including Washington State University poised to compete for new sustainable aviation funding
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, announced the first round of applications for the Department of Transportation’s new Fueling Aviation’s Sustainable Transition Sustainable Aviation Fuel (FAST-SAF) and Low-Emission Aviation Technology (FAST-TECH) grant program designed to invest in building sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) supply chains and developing low-emission aviation technologies. Enacted via the Inflation Reduction Act in August 2022, Sen. Cantwell authored the program and urged its inclusion in the final bill. As Commerce Chair, Sen. Cantwell continues to lead Congressional efforts this year to reauthorize the FAA and increase the adoption of low-emission and innovative aviation technologies for cleaner, quieter, and more affordable air travel.
“Grant programs like this, combined with tax credits, can help build scalable solutions for sustainable aviation fuel, support low emissions technology, and drive down long-term costs,” said Sen. Cantwell. “With the State of Washington at the forefront of next generation aviation development, local companies and communities are well positioned to compete for grants and grow a sustainable aviation fuels industry in the Pacific Northwest.”
This new $297 million competitive grant program will enable state and local governments, airport sponsors, for-profit companies, research institutions, and non-profits to produce, transport, blend, or store sustainable aviation fuel, and to develop or apply low-emission aviation technologies. Sustainable aviation fuel has the potential to reduce aviation lifecycle gas emissions in today’s jets by up to 80 percent in comparison to conventional petroleum-based jet fuel. The grant program would incentivize scaling up the production of SAF and create jobs and economic opportunities for the nation’s farmers, manufacturers, start-ups, and others in the biofuels supply chain.
Sen. Cantwell has long been a Congressional champion of sustainable aviation fuels and lowering the carbon footprint of the aviation sector. Along with Washington state aviation and environmental leaders, she pushed for the inclusion of the FAST-SAF and FAST-TECH grant program and SAF blender’s tax credit in the Build Back Better package at a press conference held at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in October 2021. In August 2022, Sen. Cantwell hosted U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Granholm at SeaTac to showcase how the Pacific Northwest is leading the way in sustainable aviation fuels commitments and investments.
In 2019, Sen. Cantwell partnered with her Senate colleagues to introduce the Sustainable Skies Act, a version of which was also incorporated in the Inflation Reduction Act to provide a tax credit to increase the supply of sustainable aviation fuel. Sen. Cantwell also joined a letter to U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in May 2023 expressing continued support for implementing the sustainable aviation fuel tax credit as intended to effectively scale up the domestic production of sustainable aviation fuel.
Washington State University (WSU), which co-leads the FAA Center of Excellence for Alternative Jet Fuels and Environment (ASCENT), already leads the nation in research into how forest products and municipal solid waste can be converted into alternative fuels. They are part of the Sustainable Aviation Fuels Northwest Initiative, which includes a mix of public and private organizations dedicated to developing an economically viable aviation biofuels industry in the Pacific Northwest. Local Washington aerospace leaders like the Port of Seattle, Alaska Airlines, Boeing, and Amazon, have all pledged to increase their use of sustainable fuel – this grant program would help produce sustainable aviation fuel at an affordable price point to help them keep those pledges.
Link to the FAST-SAF and FAST-TECH Notice of Funding Opportunity HERE. Applications are due on November 27, 2023.
Interested applicants are encouraged to join the FAA webinar on October 2, 2023 at 1:00 PM ET. Information to access the October 2nd webinar is available HERE.
Link to the FAST-SAF and FAST-TECH Program Website HERE.
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