According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration production capacity for sustainable aviation fuel is expected to increase 2,000 barrels a day.
In the report, Short-Term Energy Outlook, production capacity of SAF could increase to nearly 30,000 barrels per day if all announced capacity additions come on line. EIA said developers expect Phillips 66’s Rodeo Renewed project to produce up to about 10,000 barrels per day of SAF beginning this summer. Additionally, they expect Diamond Green Diesel’s Port Arthur SAF project to produce about 15,000 barrels per day by the end of the year.
The report said investments in SAF have increased because of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Renewable Fuel Standard, federal tax credits, and state programs and tax credits incentivizing use of fuel. The report said the White House has set a goal of meeting 100 percent of U.S. aviation fuel demand with SAF by 2050. In 2023, the United States consumed about 1.6 million b/d of petroleum jet fuel. The EIA projected in its 2023 Annual Energy Outlook that U.S. jet fuel demand will exceed 2.0 million b/d in 2050.
SAF is an alternative to petroleum jet fuel and is produced from agricultural and waste feedstocks. The fuel is consumed in blends with petroleum fuel, officials said.
EIA captures SAF production data in its Petroleum Supply Monthly, in the Other biofuels category, which also includes renewable heating oil, renewable naphtha, renewable propane, renewable gasoline, and other biofuels in various stages of development and commercialization. EIA forecasts that U.S. production of Other Biofuels will increase about 50 percent in 2024, and almost double between 2024 and 2025.
Historically, SAF production is a small portion of the Other Biofuels production because of restricted production capacity. At the start of 2024, the report said, U.S. SAF production capacity was only around 2,000 b/d, with only two plants World Energy’s plant in Paramount, California, and Montana Renewables’ plant in Great Falls, Montana capable of producing it.