The BP refinery at Cherry Point will become a major producer of sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) thanks to a $26 million grant from the federal government. Spearheaded by U.S. Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, the funds will not only increase the supply of sustainable fuels for the aviation industry but contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions nationwide.
The infusion of funding from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) will build infrastructure and purchase equipment to produce SAF from renewable biomass feedstocks at the refinery. The finished product will then be piped to Sea-Tac International Airport and other regional airports via the Olympic Pipeline, which extends from Ferndale to Portland.
The company estimates it will be able to produce 10 to 25 million gallons of SAF a year. The expanded production capabilities will create 96 new jobs in Whatcom County. The Cherry Point project received the second-highest grant in the country.
Two other Washington companies received IRA grants. ZeroAvia received $4.2 million to accelerate the process of making the company’s hydrogen-electric engines commercially available. Seattle-based APiJET was awarded $4.5 million to develop software for airlines to better identify and operate on fuel-optimized flight routes.
Sen. Cantwell has long been a champion of sustainable aviation fuels and lowering the carbon footprint of the aviation sector. In 2019, Sen. Cantwell partnered with her Senate colleagues to introduce the Sustainable Skies Act, a version of which was also incorporated in the Inflation Reduction Act, to provide a tax credit to increase the supply of sustainable aviation fuel.