KY Energy and Environment Cabinet and University of Kentucky Center for Applied Energy Research Launch Sustainable Aviation Fuel Study
The Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet (EEC) and the University of Kentucky Center for Applied Energy Research (CAER) are seeking participation in a risk assessment questionnaire as part of a collaborative Biomass Feedstock for Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Project funded through Kentucky’s State Energy Program. The goal of the study is to assess the risk associated with representative feedstocks that can be used to produce SAF in Kentucky.
UK CAER and the EEC are asking stakeholders across the state to complete an online quantitative and qualitative questionnaire to complete the first phase of this project. Stakeholders include producers, handlers, brokers, regulatory bodies, and entities providing related goods and services of biomass feedstock. All responses will be kept confidential. Results will be reported in an aggregate, anonymized format. The Questionnaire to Assess the Risk of Representative Feedstocks that can be Used to Produce Sustainable Aviation Fuel in Kentucky is currently available on the University of Kentucky website and will close on December 31, 2024. Access the questionnaire here. https://uky.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_246K6Gi5k7UYgF8
“This SAF project supports Governor Beshear’s Energy Strategy, KYE3, through the advancement of energy economic development and increasing fuel diversity, which is central to Kentucky’s Energy Security Plan,” says Kenya Stump, Executive Director of the Office of Energy Policy. “Aviation has an economic impact surpassing $18 billion in Kentucky, where it serves on average 14.8 million passengers annually and supports 134,000 jobs.”
“Aviation is a major – and growing industry – in the Commonwealth of Kentucky,” said Eduardo Santillan-Jimenez, Associate Director of CAER’s Sustainable & Alternative Fuels Group. “This study will help Kentucky take an important step towards becoming a SAF-producing state.”
SAF has similar composition and properties as conventional jet fuel, with which it can be blended and rendered compatible with existing aircraft and aviation fuel infrastructure. It is also renewable, results in lower emissions, and can be produced from feedstocks found in places with few petroleum deposits, like Kentucky. SAF can be produced from soybean oil, corn oil, and distillers corn oil, which are some of the most important agricultural commodities in Kentucky. In addition, SAF can also be produced from animal fats (from livestock rendering), yellow grease (used cooking oil), and brown grease recovered from grease traps and/or wastewater treatment plants.
According to the International Air Transport Association, as of 2022, 84 percent of SAF was produced via the hydroprocessing of esters and fatty acids, which utilize biomass feedstocks collectively referred to as FOG, fats, oils, and greases.
The Biomass Feedstock for Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Project is funded by the Energy and Environment Cabinet, through the combined efforts of the Kentucky Office of Energy Policy and UK CAER, with support from the U.S. Department of Energy State Energy Program.
For more information about the grant-funded program or other projects of the Kentucky Office of Energy Policy, contact Hailey.Mattingly@ky.gov