A bill that seeks to facilitate the use and production of alternative jet fuels passed off the Senate floor Wednesday evening with a vote of 46-2. Among preferential tax adjustments, SB 5447 would also codify a work group convened by Washington State University.
Initially convened in 2012, the Sustainable Aviation Biofuels Work Group is tasked with gathering stakeholders from scientists to industry experts in order to develop recommendations for business, research, and policy published through a report to the Legislature and the governor. The sponsor of the bill, Senator Andy Billig, remarked about WSU’s expertise in this area “WSU, along with MIT, are the leading academic institutions in research for sustainable aviation fuels. In fact, WSU is a FAA Center for Excellence in sustainable aviation fuels.”
WSU researchers are exploring energy sources, testing, supply-chain logistics and policy in the quest for sustainable air transportation. WSU is a co‑leader of ASCENT with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a consortium of research universities, government agencies, national laboratories, and private industry partners convened by the Federal Aviation Administration nearly a decade ago.
WSU testified in support of Section 5 of the bill when it was heard in the Senate Environment & Energy committee in January. You can watch that testimony on the bill below:
The bill now heads to the opposite chamber, where it once again navigates the committee process in the House.