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Some Sustainability Steps Can
Lower Bizav Ops Costs
Many
business aircraft operators assume becoming more sustainable means buying
premium-priced sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and/or carbon offsets, but
wringing more efficiencies out of operations doesn’t cost anything and can
actually save money while boosting sustainability, Gulfstream director of
demonstration and corporate flight operations Scott Evans told attendees
yesterday at the AIN
Building a Sustainable Flight Department forum in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. “SAF
is definitely one of the operational considerations to lower emissions, but
it’s not the only one,” he said. “Operators can also fly at optimum altitudes
and speeds, especially when there are no passengers on board. They can also
operate at minimum weights, in part by eliminating unnecessary items on board
the aircraft and curbing fuel tankering. Other measures include minimizing
taxi time, reducing APU usage, and keeping the aircraft clean to lessen
drag.” Upgrading
aircraft is another way to lower emissions, Evans said, noting that the
Gulfstream G500 is 32 percent more efficient than previous-generation
large-cabin jets. Overall, Gulfstream views itself
as the industry leader on sustainability, he said. In fact, Evans noted that
Gulfstream has purchased more than 1.6 million gallons of SAF since 2016,
reducing CO2 emissions by more than 3,400 tonnes for some 700 of its
flight-test and demonstration flights. The company is also
incorporating the latest energy-efficient standards into the new
facilities it is building. |
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A new start – with SAF
First
of its kind, SAFinity combines sustainable projects with a direct investment
in Sustainable Aviation Fuel. The goal is to further support and accelerate
the availability and use of SAF in the aviation industry. The service is
available for all aircraft and engines from any manufacturers and is part of
our ongoing ambition to play a leading role in enabling the sectors in which
we operate to reach net zero carbon by 2050. |
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SAF Is Key To Reducing Bizav’s
Direct Emissions
“Sustainable
aviation fuel (SAF) is the only pathway for business aircraft flight
departments to meaningfully reduce Scope 1 (direct) emissions,” Darren
Fuller, v-p of business development for business aviation at World Fuel
Services, told attendees yesterday at AIN’s
Building a Sustainable Flight Department forum. “Supply is the biggest
impediment to its wider adoption, and operators need to make big public
commitments to SAF—this is required for investment in SAF production.”
According to Fuller, the U.S. has only one operational SAF refinery (in
Southern California), with two more planned on the West Coast and another
under construction in the Southeast. While
Fuller said SAF “is jet-A,” the difference is that with SAF “aircraft
operators are paying more for an associated reduction in carbon.” That
reduction, he explained, comes from the sourcing of the fuel, which at
present typically comes from woody biomass, animal meat waste, or used
cooking oil. “With SAF we’re reusing carbon that is already above the ground;
with jet-A, we’re taking a carbon bank out of the ground and adding more
carbon into the atmosphere when we use it,” he added. Even when SAF supply rises it
still won’t be available at every airport, so Fuller said operators will need
to use book-and-claim
as a strategy to reduce their carbon footprint. |
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4AIR: Start Small with
Sustainability Goals
Business
aviation operators seeking to become more sustainable don’t need to dive in
head-first, according to Nancy Bsales, the COO at aviation sustainability consultancy
4AIR. “Set small goals now—such as committing to buying sustainable aviation
fuel (SAF) equating to 5 percent of your total fuel uptake—and then increase
it later,” she told attendees yesterday at AIN’s Building a Sustainable Flight
Department forum. “Even just one SAF uplift is a step.” She
added that flight departments should start off by measuring emissions to get
a baseline for comparison and then budget to purchase a certain amount of SAF
and/or carbon credits. According to Bsales, the price premium for a 30
percent SAF blend is about $1.50 per gallon, while carbon offset credits cost
between $8 and $20 per tonne of emitted CO2. Carbon
offset credit prices are increasing due to rising demand, but Bsales sees
this as a good thing because SAF becomes a more viable option. She believes
SAF should be an operator’s first choice in their quest to become more
carbon-neutral since this reduces direct emissions, with carbon offset
credits used to “bridge the gap.” 4AIR is also working with the
University of Cambridge in the UK to source SAF at lower costs to make it
more affordable for business aircraft operators to use. |
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Europe, U.S. Take Differing
Approaches to SAF Incentives
Europe
is taking a “stick” approach to reducing aircraft CO2 emissions, while the
U.S. is going the “carrot” route, General Aviation Manufacturers Association
director of government affairs Marc Ehudin explained yesterday at AIN’s Building a
Sustainable Flight Department forum in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The U.S. is
aiming for net-zero emissions for aviation by 2050, while the European
Union (EU) is targeting a 55 percent reduction in greenhouse gas
emissions by 2030. Under
the EU’s “Fit for 55” proposal, fuel suppliers would be required to meet
certain targets in delivering sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and
“e-fuels”—including electric and hydrogen—to “major” EU airports. SAF would
need to equate to 2 percent of fuel delivered in 2025 and gradually rise to
63 percent SAF and 28 percent e-fuels in 2050. The EU is also mulling a $1.73
per gallon tax on jet-A to incentivize SAF purchases. However, Ehudin pointed
out that the likely concentration of SAF at airline airports combined with
the jet-A tax would penalize business aircraft operators flying into
non-major airports. Meanwhile, the U.S.’s SAF Grand
Challenge would provide up to $4.3 billion in funding to support SAF projects
and production. The challenge, which was announced on September 9, seeks to
increase SAF production from about four million gallons in 2019 to three
billion gallons annually in 2030. |
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