BizAv Is Out Front In Transition to SAF

by Bill Carey (Aviation Week) Business aviation is out front as the wider industry transitions to burning sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), but ongoing progress depends on the future regulatory environment, says a leading fuel distributor.

Overall, there were 23 billion gal. of jet fuel consumed in the U.S. in 2023, of which approximately 1.4 billion (6%) was consumed by business and general aviation (GA). There were 26.5 million gal. of “neat” or unblended SAF purchased, according to the FAA and RIN (Renewable Identification Numbers) count—credits the Environmental Protection Agency uses to track compliance with the Renewable Fuel Standard, says Keith Sawyer, Avfuel Corp. manager of alternative fuels.

Business and GA associations and SAF suppliers estimate that 11-12% of neat SAF was consumed by the business/GA segment of the industry, which represents just 6% of the overall demand for jet fuel. That is sending a clear demand signal to SAF producers, Sawyer says.

“The message is under the radar that our business aviation segment is punching above its weight, just because we can do it quicker,” Sawyer says. “We’ve got FBOs and a distributive mechanism that we’re shipping [SAF] to already. It doesn’t need to be segregated, it is fungible, it is 1655 [specification] jet fuel, and it’s a drop-in.”

“Many of the new business jets in the United States are being delivered with their first fill being SAF,” says Sawyer, who notes that in addition to a growing number of fixed-base operators (FBO), corporate flight departments and aircraft manufacturers are taking SAF deliveries at various bases and facilities.

Avfuel started loading Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel, a 70/30 blend of conventional jet fuel to SAF, at the NuStar Energy-operated Selby Terminal near San Francisco in 2020 and started supplying it regularly to FBO Monterey Jet Center in Monterey, California, in 2021.

Signature Aviation also has partnered with Neste since 2020 and in October 2022 expanded SAF availability to all 10 of its locations in California. In 2023, Neste expanded its renewables footprint on the West Coast by commissioning capacity at the Vopak Los Angeles terminal to store SAF and renewable diesel. This April, Signature started supplying only blended Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel at its Los Angeles International Airport terminal, its second location after San Francisco International Airport to supply 100% blended SAF.

Through its partnership with Neste, Avfuel in October was supplying SAF to 20 FBO facilities in the U.S., nearly half of the 44 facilities with physical SAF supply listed by sustainability consulting firm 4AIR (see list below). Avfuel sent a first truckload to sister company Avflight’s FBO at Falcon Field Airport (KFFZ) in Mesa, Arizona, in late August, the first of Avflight’s 26 locations to offer SAF. It also supplies SAF to 12 locations in Europe and the UK.

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Major projects are coming on-stream in the next 12-18 months, among them:

Phillips 66 has converted its San Francisco refinery at Rodeo, California, into the Rodeo Renewable Energy Complex, which is now processing only renewable feedstocks and producing about 30,000 barrels per day of renewable diesel. Plans call for increasing production to more than 800 million gal. per year of renewable fuels, including SAF.
Diamond Green Diesel is repurposing its plant at Port Arthur, Texas, to convert approximately 50% of its 470-million-gallon annual production capacity of renewable diesel to SAF.

Avfuel expects to begin lifting SAF from Neste on the Gulf Coast later this year or next spring. Neste announced in July that it had commissioned capacity at the Oneok terminal in Houston for blending and storing up to 33.5 million gal. of Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel. The terminal is connected to the energy pipeline infrastructure in the eastern part of the U.S. and can supply SAF to airports east of the Rocky Mountains to the East Coast.

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U.S. Airports, FBOs With Onsite SAF READ MORE

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Signature Aviation Expands Blended Sustainable Aviation Fuel Offering at Six New Locations (Signature Aviation)

Excerpt from Signature Aviation: Signature Aviation, the world’s largest network of private aviation terminals, has announced the expansion of its blended sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) offering to six new locations across the United States following a blended SAF supply agreement with Valero Marketing and Supply Company (Valero), a subsidiary of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE: VLO).

The announcement further reinforces Signature’s leadership in environmental stewardship within the broader aviation community. Effective in January 2025, SAF will be available at Signature’s locations at:

Dallas Love Field (DAL)
Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD)
Miami International Airport (MIA)
Opa Locka International Airport (OPF)
Palm Beach International Airport (PBI)
Teterboro Airport (TEB)

This expansion extends Signature’s SAF availability to 23 total locations, including 8 of the 10 largest private aviation markets in the U.S. Along with full blended SAF availability at all California locations and several west coast bases, Signature offers blended SAF at 6 locations in the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region.

The supply agreement with Valero will allow Signature to bring a supply of blended SAF to a growing number of locations across the U.S. Gulf Coast and East Coast and will see up to 58 million gallons of blended SAF added to the Signature network for 2025 in furtherance of the company’s ongoing sustainability efforts. The SAF offering provided by Signature at these additional locations will include 35% neat SAF and 65% conventional jet fuel.

“Signature is thrilled to announce the expansion of our SAF offering to some of our key locations during such a transformative year for the company,” said Derek DeCross, Chief Commercial Officer at Signature Aviation. “By collaborating with suppliers like Valero and responding directly to the needs of our guests, we’re ensuring more blended SAF availability across our network. This expansion is another example of the leadership role we’ve taken in helping to build the most comprehensive SAF supply chain in aviation.”

The news builds on several significant announcements surrounding Signature’s sustainability goals in 2024. The business was recently awarded a Green Power Leadership Award from the United States Environmental Protection Agency as a result of its commitment to renewable electricity and advancing the nation’s green power market.

Signature recently passed the 40 million mark in terms of blended SAF gallons pumped and announced that its LAX terminal has become only the second private aviation terminal globally, after Signature’s San Francisco International Airport (SFO) location, to offer a 100 percent supply of blended SAF. READ MORE