Alaska Airlines, Boeing, airports in biofuels program

Alaska Airlines, Boeing, Portland International, Seattle-Tacoma International, Spokane International and Washington State University announced yesterday that they will examine biomass options "within a four-state area" exploring "all phases of developing a sustainable biofuel industry." The project, dubbed Sustainable Aviation Fuels Northwest, will include an analysis of potential biomass sources that are indigenous to the Pacific Northwest. Sources to be examined include algae, camelina, wood byproducts and other agriculturally based oilseeds. Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and CEO Jim Albaugh said, "Developing a sustainable aviation fuel supply now is a top priority both to ensure continued economic growth and prosperity at regional levels and to support the broader aim of achieving carbon-neutral growth across the industry by 2020."

Biofuel development for the aviation industry is still in the "chicken-and-egg stage," AltAir Principal Bryan Sherbacow told reporters at ATW's Eco-Aviation Conference in Washington. The Pacific Northwest effort vowed to explore all phases of developing a sustainable biofuel industry, including biomass production and harvest, refining, transport infrastructure and actual use by airlines, with an aim of identifying "potential pathways" and "necessary actions" needed to make biofuel a commercially viable option for airline operators in the region. The project will be managed by Northwest-based environmental nonprofit Climate Solutions, with the first meeting slated to take place later this month.

(ATWOnline News)