Kearney, Nebraska – Today, Delta Air Lines’ Director of State and Local Government Affairs Sarah Gonzales delivered remarks at the annual Ag & Economic Development Summit hosted by Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen (R). Gonzales participated in a panel entitled “The Nebraska Bioeconomy: Feeding the world, fueling the future, saving the planet.”

Like many Midwestern states, Nebraska is a gold-mine of jobs and opportunity when it comes to producing and scaling a market for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). “We applaud Governor Pillen and all the biofuel champions in Nebraska for recognizing and passing legislation that will incentivize and speed the production of Nebraska’s SAF market,” said Gonzales. 

The U.S. aviation industry has taken a leadership role in the development and deployment of SAF, alongside many other critical industries and sectors whose future depends on a robust U.S. SAF market. Delta is a founding member of Americans for Clean Aviation Fuels (ACAF), a diverse coalition made up of leading industry players from across the full SAF value chain. 

“Farmers in Nebraska and across the country hold the keys to unlocking the most important lever to decarbonize aviation through SAF,”  said Gonzales. “Even more reason to spotlight the critical nature of strategic incentives to support farmers and the burgeoning SAF industry in states across the heartland, which serves to drive economic growth and national security.”

Nebraska’s newly passed SAF tax credit (LB937) will provide a $0.75 per gallon tax credit for the production of aviation fuel that reduces lifecycle emissions by at least 50 percent, which may be calculated based on the most recent version of the Argonne National Laboratory’s GREET model.

During Governor Pillen’s State of the State address in February, he noted his strong support for developing a state-wide bioeconomy, including SAF. 

The focus of the Governor’s summit was the emerging bioeconomy in Nebraska, which included building robust supply chains to support sustainable agriculture. 

Gonzales participated in the panel conversation alongside:

• Gavin Gretter, Director of Strategic Initiatives for Love’s Travel Stops, 
• Michael Darcy, CEO of DG Fuels, 
• John Hannon, Chief Operating Officer of Vertimass,
• Reid Wagner, Executive Director of the Nebraska Ethanol Board, and
• Valerie Reed, Director for the Bioenergy Technologies Office under the U.S. Department of Energy.

DGFuels is a Delta off-take partner, which works to help expand the availability of SAF.