Source: CHOICES MAGAZINE


Imagine flying across the United States on a plane powered by jet fuel derived from trees and oilseeds that grew 35,000 feet below. Imagine further that harvesting those trees and oilseeds did not reduce output of other products grown in rural areas. Finally, imagine that instead of being viewed as “flyover country,” many of these rural areas had new jobs and economic activity from converting biomass into jet fuel. At present, this entirely plausible scenario remains unfulfilled. The reason is that bio-based jet fuel, or biojet, is presently not cost-competitive with traditional fossil fuels, although there is greater parity when societal costs and benefits are taken into account. This article reviews recent evidence supporting these conclusions. First we provide background on why there has been strong interest in renewable aviation fuels.

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