U.S. economy to benefit from federal SAF incentives at Gevo’s planned Net-Zero 1 facility
Gevo Inc. has released a new report by Charles River Associates (CRA) demonstrating the benefits of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production, including at Gevo’s planned Net-Zero 1 (NZ1) alcohol-to-jet (ATJ) SAF facility in South Dakota (U.S.).
CRA’s findings in the report show that every $1.00 from federal tax credits for ATJ SAF yields an estimated $4–$6 of total quantified benefits. The research, commissioned by Gevo, also demonstrates how the proposed NZ1 facility is expected to directly support local economies, drive down emissions and improve U.S. energy security.
“Practical, economical products like SAF provide our communities with clear benefits. We believe that not only will the sustainable jet fuel produced at NZ1 be cost-effective, but it will also help to lower emissions, create good-paying jobs and bolster agricultural markets nationwide. It doesn’t have to be a tradeoff. This report shows that reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in a business system like ours generates a payback for all of us, in addition to the project economics itself,” said Lindsay Fitzgerald, Gevo’s Senior Vice President of Public Affairs. “The exciting benefits of NZ1 are not limited to South Dakota—Gevo has identified several potential sites in other states. We look forward to replicating these efforts in other localities and appreciate the continued collaboration with our federal partners to make this, and other facilities, a reality.”
The report prepared by CRA shows that NZ1 would be a game-changer for scaling SAF production and uplifting local communities. Facilitating significant carbon reductions in jet fuel is needed to meet industrywide net-zero goals and provide needed certainty to farmers. The report’s key findings include:
Energy and environmental benefits
- Avoided impacts valued at $2/gal from reduced lifecycle GHG emissions by replacing fossil jet fuel with ATJ SAF
- Substituting fossil jet fuel with ATJ SAF generates a value of $0.12/gal in avoided health impacts from reduced particulate matter emissions during flight
- Implementing climate-smart agriculture practices yields improved air and water quality, reduced GHG emissions and more money in farmers’ pockets to grow crop feedstocks in place of conventional farming practices, valued at $0.90/gal
- Improved energy securityby choosing a home-grown solution, resulting in domestic infrastructure and jobs expansion with continued agriculture partnership and distributing jet fuel production more broadly across the country.
Local economic benefits
- Provides $116 MM of value added annually to the local economy from direct, indirect, and induced impacts of NZ1’s expected operations
- Supports 100 jobsat the NZ1 plant and creates an additional 736 local jobs
- Contributes incremental economic value that is returned to the federal government in the form of tax revenue, estimated at $23 MM annuallyor $0.38/gal of SAF annually
- Adds the interim benefit of $184 MM in local economic value and supports 1,266 jobsduring the construction of NZ1.
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