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Commerce, Earth Finance and Ecology outline plans for alternative jet fuel and PEIS
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Summary
Commerce and Earth Finance updated the Senate committee on alternative and sustainable aviation fuels and regional coordination, while the Department of Ecology outlined a programmatic environmental impact statement (PEIS) timeline for alternative jet fuel with draft release planned in early 2027.
Commerce officials and private partners briefed the Senate Transportation Committee on Feb. 23 about statewide work to develop alternative and sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) and to coordinate regional research, funding and siting.
Stephanie Selt, senior energy policy specialist and lead of the Office of Renewable Fuels at the Department of Commerce, said the office (established in 2022 and expanded in 2023 to include alternative jet fuel) has been modeling demand and expects hydrogen and hydrogen‑derived fuels could supply up to about 27% of Washington’s total energy demand by 2050 in certain scenarios. "We anticipate this program is going to have positive impact at this critical time when the first wave of hydrogen projects, and renewable fuel projects are coming online," she said.
Tim Zink of Earth Finance, who spoke for the Cascadia Sustainable Aviation Fuel Accelerator, said Cascadia secured more than $10 million in philanthropic funding to match the legislature’s contribution and has convened hundreds of stakeholders to create a five‑year strategy. Zink listed founding investors including Amazon, Boeing, Alaska Airlines, Microsoft and Washington State University and described efforts on certification and cost reduction for SAF.
Diane Butorak, Clean Energy Section manager at the Department of Ecology, described the alternative jet fuel programmatic environmental impact statement (PEIS) mandated in statute. She said a PEIS provides program‑level review under the State Environmental Policy Act, will not approve projects, and is intended to identify potential impacts and mitigation options. Ecology completed scoping in December 2025, is considering public comments, plans to release a draft PEIS for public review in early 2027 and aims for a final PEIS in June 2027.
Committee members asked about grant parameters and greenhouse‑gas accounting standards; Ecology said the tax credit qualification requires a 50% life‑cycle greenhouse‑gas reduction for eligibility and that the agency will study life‑cycle measures as part of the PEIS work.
The committee took no action; presenters said follow‑up work and stakeholder engagement will continue.
