House environment committee hears alternative jet fuel bill

The Sustainable Aviation Biofuels Work Group would be codified under SB 5447, heard in the House yesterday. The group of business and government leaders, among other stakeholders, is convened by WSU and is charged with working to identify opportunities and challenges facing the emerging industry.

The workgroup first convened in 2012 and relies on collaborative discussions among a variety of stakeholders ranging from scientists to industry experts and others. These conversations inform the development of recommendations for business, research, and policy purposes gathered in a report published by WSU and submitted to the Legislature and the governor.

In testimony during the hearing, WSU Assistant Director of State Relations Connor Haggerty testified in support of the effort noting that the bill would establish the work group in statute. “Section four codifies a work group convened by WSU which has operated most recently through budget proviso language,” Haggerty said to the committee. You can find his remarks below.

The sponsor of the bill, Senator Andy Billig, also spoke during the hearing. He detailed how Washington state is well tailored to be a leader in SAF noting “…we’ve got this incredible academic power. That is something a lot of people don’t know. The leaders academically and research for sustainable aviation fuels is Washington State University, actually WSU and MIT – they are the FAA center of excellence for sustainable aviation fuels.”

WSU is co-leader of ASCENT with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a consortium of research universities, government agencies, national laboratories, and private sector partners convened by the Federal Aviation Administration nearly a decade ago. You can view Sen. Billig’s remarks below.