Conversations about decarbonization and the energy transition often turn to the transportation sector, which accounted for about 27% of U.S. greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 2020. Electric vehicles typically dominate these talks, but alternative fuels like renewable diesel (RD) and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) also come up, not only because of their lower emissions but also because they are considered “drop-in” replacements for conventional diesel and jet fuel. Policies at the state and national level have already encouraged some production growth, but a tax credit established as part of the recently enacted Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) provides a major incentive for cleaner fuels. In today’s RBN blog, we look at the new 45Z Clean Fuel Production Credit (CFPC), how it will impact the production of RD and SAF, and why facilities that can produce fuels with the lowest carbon intensity (CI) stand to benefit the most.
Thunderstruck
As concerns about energy security have come to the forefront, some in the mainstream have begun to pump the brakes on the idea of energy transition at any cost and reevaluate the practicality of some proposed solutions. But that hasn’t changed the long-term outlook for energy transition nor the fact that numerous individual projects focused on alternative fuels, carbon capture, hydrogen and renewable energy are in the works, gaining in prominence and attracting a prodigious amount of investment. There is still an anticipation among investors that the market will increasingly demand greener production methods — they just need to be well-conceived, planned and executed. The good thing for Fidelis New Energy — a Houston-based firm focused on climate-impact infrastructure, including low-carbon, sustainable fuels — is that, among renewable producers, they’re building a sustainable cost advantage through efficient, integrated design. In today’s RBN blog we look at what Fidelis calls the Grön Fuels GigaSystem.