A lifelong aviation enthusiast who joined&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;in 2007, Curt came to&nbsp;the publication&nbsp;from the broadcast industry where he was a national science and technology television reporter and producer. He writes on the FBO field, aviation finance, and sustainable aviation and occasionally contributes to&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;sister publication&nbsp;Business Jet Traveler. Curt was a member of the AINtv reporting staff that won the 2008 Aerospace Journalist of the Year award for Best Airshow Daily. That same year, he was a finalist for another AJOYA award. He earned an AJOYA for Best Business Aviation Submission in 2018 and was a finalist in that category in 2021. He received the National Air Transportation Association’s&nbsp; Aviation Journalist Award in 2012 and won a Pegasus Sapphire Business Aviation Award for outstanding journalism in 2021.
Before joining AIN, Curt worked with&nbsp;Consumer Reports’ television division, CRTV, and for several local television news staffs. An honors graduate of the State University of New York at Stony Brook, he earned a master’s degree in broadcast journalism from Boston University in 1995. Curt lives in New York State with his wife and two young sons.

Senior Editor

Curt Epstein

A new <a href="https://blogs.edf.org/energyexchange/wp-content/blogs.dir/38/files//Intermittent-production-PtL-jet-fuel-grid-DSM-19NOV24.pdf">paper released by the Environmental Defense Fund</a> (EDF) shows the potential of second-generation sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) produced from CO2, water, and renewable electricity (e-fuels), describing it as “a huge economic and climate opportunity for the U.S.”
SAF is considered one of the best near-term options for aviation to meet its emission reduction goals, but how and from what it is made weighs heavily on its benefits over conventional jet fuel.
The key, the EDF study noted, is in the electricity. When it is sourced from excess renewable energy and the carbon component comes from waste CO2 from other industrial processes, manufacturers can produce clean, affordable SAF. It estimates that when e-fuels are produced in a supply-driven electricity market, costs could be halved compared to mainstream estimates. The paper’s authors believe there will be enough surplus renewable electricity in the U.S. to meet most, if not all, jet fuel demand with e-fuels in the 2050 timeframe.
With hundreds of plants producing ethanol in the Midwest, their waste CO2 combined with the region’s abundant renewable energy could account for the bulk of the 3 billion gallons of SAF a year by 2030 as requested in the <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2021-09-10/white-house-rolls-out-initiatives-boost-saf">SAF Grand Challenge</a> issued by the Biden Administration, the report stated.
“By marrying CO2 from local ethanol plants with surplus renewable electricity, the U.S. has the potential to produce some of the cheapest, most sustainable aviation fuels on the market, while growing the country’s economy, meeting climate goals, and accelerating the energy transition,” said&nbsp;Pedro Piris-Cabezas, EDF’s senior director for global transportation and one of the study's authors. “State and federal policymakers have a critical role to play in supporting the growth of this exciting new industry.”&nbsp;
The report comes as the U.S. Treasury Department is expected to issue <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2024-08-02/bizav-groups-urge-flexibility-rules-guiding-saf">guidance</a> on the 45Z Clean Fuel Production Credit, a tax incentive for the domestic production of clean transportation fuels, which could provide up to a $1.75 credit per gallon of fuel based on its carbon intensity.
“Federal policymakers should give e-fuels a chance to compete on a level playing field with other alternative fuels by protecting the safeguards written in the IRA that ensure only high-integrity sustainable aviation fuels receive generous taxpayer subsidies,” Piris-Cabezas concluded. “By nurturing a Midwest e-fuels industry, the U.S. can attract global demand for a made-in-America product and secure its position as an international leader in sustainable aviation.”

News about environmental issues relating to aircraft operations, including noise issues, emissisions, and regulations. See Fuel for biofuel.

New Report from the Environmental Defense Fund Sees U.S. e-Fuel Potential

The report sees the Midwest as a future hotbed of SAF production

A new paper from the Environmental Defense Fund shows the potential of second-gen sustainable aviation fuel to meet the needs of the U.S. aviation industry.

Environmental Group Sees U.S. e-Fuel Potential

2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

Kerry Lynch

News and issues relating to business, corporate and private aviation, primarily regarding turbine-engine-powered airplanes and helicopters. Subjects include aircraft, engines, maintenance, operations, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security, and training.

NBAA called a study suggesting business aviation emissions will need to be regulated 'misleading' 

NBAA Challenges Study Highlighting Bizav Emissions

NASA's Gulfstream G-III will use lidar technology to scan contrails of GE's Boeing 747

NASA and GE Plan Flight Tests To Study Contrails

Charles Alcock

News and developments about airplanes, helicopters and unmanned air vehicles used in all varieties of operations, including airlines, military, business, commercial, general aviation and private.

News and developments about aircraft engines, including turbofan, turboprop, turboshaft and piston.

News and issues relating to international air transport and cargo carriers, national airlines and regional airlines, including aircraft, engines, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security and training.

Project also includes Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, Honeywell Aerospace, and American Airlines, plus MIT and University of Michigan

NASA Contracts Electra for AACES Sustainable Airliner Program

New developments at airports including regulations and noise issues; legal disputes; openings, acquisitions and mergers.

New developments at FBOs including regulations and noise issues; legal disputes; openings, acquisitions and mergers.

4,000 solar panels have been fitted on buildings across the London-area facility

Solar Generates 25% of Farnborough's Electric Power

Matt Thurber

News and issues concerning general aviation, specifically airplanes and helicopters powered by piston and alternative engines (i.e., non-turbine powered aircraft). Subjects include aircraft, engines, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security and training.

High-octane unleaded avgas is becoming more available in California

San Carlos Flight Center Adopts Unleaded Swift 100R

News and developments about aviation fuel, including jet fuel, aviation gasoline, and biofuel.

News and issues relating to the aerospace industry that are related to the science, engineering and business of flight in space involving civil, industrial and military applications, and similar topics related to flight in the atmosphere of the Earth that are not covered more directly by other AINonline subject channels. In other words, both astronautical and aeronautical subjects, except for those aeronautical topics that are specifically covered elsewhere on this website.

More In Environment

NBAA Challenges Study Highlighting Bizav Emissions

NBAA called a study suggesting business aviation emissions will need to be regulated 'misleading'

NASA and GE Plan Flight Tests To Study Contrails

NASA's Gulfstream G-III will use lidar technology to scan contrails of GE's Boeing 747

NASA Contracts Electra for AACES Sustainable Airliner Program

Project also includes Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, Honeywell Aerospace, and American Airlines, plus MIT and University of Michigan

Solar Generates 25% of Farnborough's Electric Power

4,000 solar panels have been fitted on buildings across the London-area facility

San Carlos Flight Center Adopts Unleaded Swift 100R

High-octane unleaded avgas is becoming more available in California

Minnesota Selected for SAF Production Site

DG Fuels plans for the $5 billion production facility to be operational by 2030

Still In Its Infancy, SAF Growing by Leaps and Bounds

With jet-A holding a 75-year head start over SAF, it will take time to catch up

Gulfstream Completes 100% SAF Emissions Tests

The weeklong program compared emissions from several fuels

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