Story ID: 
Sustainable Aviation Fuel Makes Inroads in Monterey
By: Curt Epstein
Caption: Since early 2021, Avfuel has provided more than 200,000 gallon of sustainable aviation fuel to California's Monterey Regional Airport.
Word Count: 303
Avfuel has provided 216,000 gallons of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to FBOs at Monterey Regional Airport (KMRY) since it first began continual deliveries of the biofuel to Monterey Jet Center in early 2021. That amount of SAF has resulted in CO2 emissions savings of an estimated 513 tonnes, the equivalent of the yearly emissions of 111 passenger vehicles or the energy usage of more than 60 homes.

Monterey Jet Center became the first of the fuel supplier’s more than 600 branded dealers to offer SAF on a permanent basis, starting in March 2021. Del Monte Aviation, the other FBO on the field that is also supplied by Avfuel, began receiving its own supplies of SAF last summer based on customer demand with a launch event centered around the city’s famed Car Week.

“The entire Monterey community—from the FBOs and the airport to its businesses and citizens—have been champions for sustainability and a natural launching pad for SAF in the Avfuel network,” noted Keith Sawyer, the Michigan-based fuel provider’s manager of alternative fuels.

The blended SAF, supplied by Neste and derived from renewable sources such as used cooking oil, is a drop-in replacement for conventional jet fuel and fully meets ASTM D-1655 standards. In its unblended form, SAF can provide lifecycle carbon emissions savings of up to 80 percent. While readily mixable with jet-A supplies in fuel farms, as most distributors do, Del Monte has taken the step to keep its 30 percent SAF blend in a dedicated tank and use a dedicated refueler, so its customers will know exactly what is being dispensed into their aircraft.

“This pioneering approach is part of our commitment to help our customers achieve real, immediate, beneficial impacts related to their carbon footprint from air travel,” explained Del Monte v-p Matthew Wright.