The Liberal community could soon be a hub for going green, and multiple officials were on hand Wednesday for the groundbreaking of a new pilot plant designed to help produce sustainable aviation fuel.
“I could not be prouder to be part of this project, this is absolutely huge. There are a lot of public-private partnerships that have grit and determination, and this community, Southwest Airlines and SAFFiRE came together for this project, and we’re really excited to watch it all unfold,” Debra Sanning, deputy regional administrator for the FAA Central Region, said. “We have a very robust environmental division within the FAA, and we work closely with the Department of Energy and other various partnerships. When I look around and see this level of commitment of federal, state and local leaderships, this is huge and underscores the commitment to this project. We’re going to be watching this project very closely, and if we go throughout the U.S. with our outreach, we’re going to talk this project up like crazy. We have a bit of a challenge here – with the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Grant Challenge launched in 2021, the goal is 3 billion gallons per day by 2030, and 35 billion gallons by 2050, and I think we can make that. Sustainable agriculture in Kansas has always been a focus as far as keeping the soil healthy and keeping the food supply safe. But look now, with the byproducts of corn stover, there’s a lot that can be done, and this innovation, along with a lot of grit and determination, can make this happen. We are in a new era of aviation and if you can think it, you can build it, but not without money and support from policymakers, which we have. We need to be able to work together as a community to bring this in, and with the level of loyalty and commitment seen, this is not just a community, it’s a family, and that can certainly be felt. We hope to come back and visit when the plant is finished, but the door of the FAA is always open.”
Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor also praised the project.
“I first have to say, congratulations to everyone present for this groundbreaking. I have the privilege of representing the ethanol industry, we represent about 10 billion gallons of production of ethanol in Kansas and throughout the U.S. I spend a lot of time talking about the promise of sustainable aviation fuel, but we’re here at this groundbreaking because now, it’s real, and it’s absolutely fantastic,” Skor said. “It’s great to be able to celebrate this milestone with partners from the Department of Energy and the FAA and political leaders, because it’s a very rare opportunity to get so many biofuels champions together in one spot. I work with many elected officials, and this area has a powerhouse in that regard. Tom Willis is also the chairman at Growth Energy, and there is no one more tenacious or effective at taking big steps in this industry than him. Growth Energy is proud to help celebrate this milestone and this project as Conestoga and SAFFiRE continue to work together to redefine the role U.S. agriculture can play in this work. This plant has the potential to be a great step not just for Kansas, but also a huge leap forward for the biofuels industry. We all know the economics of cellulosic ethanol have always been challenging, but now, a new frontier is emerging as Conestoga is helping push ethanol toward greater profitability and helping with the country’s low-carbon ambitions become more feasible.”
The pilot plant is the industry’s next big opportunity, Skor continued.
“This project a great testament to what’s possible when everyone works together. It’s also important to reflect on the representation at this groundbreaking – there are lawmakers, agency officials, airlines, biofuel producers, farmers, etc., and it takes everyone coming together for this partnership to get to this point,” Skor said. “There’s only one category of clean, renewable energy that’s available in sufficient volumes to help de-carbonize the skies, and that’s crop-based bioenergy. The future of aviation depends on U.S. farmers and biomanufacturers and other innovators. Sustainable aviation fuel is a billion-dollar opportunity for the rural U.S., and as has been said already, it will be transformational for the economy, the environment, and for communities that, far too often, get left behind. It takes everyone working together to make projects like this happen and help the U.S. become a premier in innovation, and credit needs to be given everywhere it’s due. This means empowering our farmers with maximum flexibility to choose the practices which will actually help with their farming operations, and it’s our job to help encourage our elected officials to show support and encourage more of their colleagues to come on board with these projects. That’s how we break down barriers, and that’s how we get companies like Conestoga and SAFFiRE do what they do best – innovation. The U.S.’s energy future needs it, the aviation industry requires it, and communities like Liberal certainly deserve it.”
Valerie Reed, director of Bioenergy Technologies Office in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, said the groundbreaking for the project is truly worthy of celebration.
“One of the best parts of my job is actually getting to go out into communities where the work we’ve been doing and funding is actually going to make a difference,” Reed said. “I’ve been in this job for 30 years, and we started with an idea about how an organism might work as a fuel. We had $40 million to try and figure it out, and here we are actually seeing those technologies becoming real. Events like this groundbreaking really allow for the chance to celebrate – there’s still a long way to go, but reaching this milestone is amazing, and there has actually been a lot of progress made. We launched in 2021 with the Department of Energy and the Department of Transportation/FAA and the Department of Agriculture. We came together because we all wanted to create a comprehensive strategy to scale up new technologies and produce sustainable aviation fuel on a commercial scale. This really is aviation’s best chance to help de-carbonize – there are other biofuels, and we are interested in those as well, but aviation has really recognized what biofuels can do and that importance. We’re seeing that with this SAFFiRE pilot plant.”
The goals are really aggressive, and it will take time, Reed added.
“Ultimately, we hope to produce 35 billion gallons by 2050, and again, it will greatly help with de-carbonization. We knew this would bring great partners together like Conestoga and Southwest Airlines, and we’re stepping into the forefront,” Reed said. “It’s hard to be the first, and we know these technologies are difficult, but they’re here, and they can be mastered, and I say that with a lot of pride. Throughout time, there have been multiple failures, all of which I wear as rather a badge of honor – we’ve heard a lot about cellulose and how it hasn’t really made it yet, but it’s our job to help fix that story. We honestly probably moved too fast and tried to make things happen too quickly, but everything in the past has helped us learn how to better manage certain things. Through the efforts of all the partners here at this groundbreaking, this country is really working toward meeting the challenges of making this happen, and the successes that will be seen at this plant will include good-paying jobs, the enhancement of local economies, and new educational opportunities, which is especially important because they’ll help keep young people in this area. We’ve also heard about climate issues, and this project will help with that in a big way.”
https://liberalfirst.com/index.php/en/news/1061-energy-industry-grows-in-sw-kansas