Whether we face droughts, floods, blizzards, or tornadoes, Minnesotans expect agriculture to always “be there” — producing ample and affordable crops to meet demand.

Agriculture has nearly limitless capacity to deliver for Minnesotans but often faces regulatory uncertainty that hinders the ability to scale up operations. Providing clear market and regulatory signals of potential new uses for products — such as sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) produced here in the United States — could help overcome these barriers, enhance the resiliency of Minnesota agriculture and address the climate crisis.

Minnesota biofuel producers stand ready to produce SAF, but their ability to do so depends on policy outcomes in Washington and St. Paul. The federal Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in 2022 and the state Omnibus Transportation law in 2023 both created tax credits for SAF, but it’s still unclear how a biofuel producer can measure the carbon intensity of their product or permit the technologies needed to ensure they can qualify for the credits.

Thankfully, Gov. Tim Walz, Agriculture Commissioner Thom Petersen, and U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack are working to ensure biofuel producers and farmers can play a role in helping decarbonize aviation.

The Biden administration will soon clarify which carbon accounting model and method determines eligibility for IRA credits. Should the administration choose to implement the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne GREET model, the latest data from federal agencies and academic institutions on crop and biofuel production will be incorporated into lifecycle analyses. Leveraging the latest science rewards farmers embracing lower-carbon production practices and ensures accuracy in carbon accounting. Congress required the use of GREET for lifecycle analyses of non-aviation fuels under separate IRA provisions, so also adopting it for SAF provides consistency across tax structures.

The alternative is to only allow an international framework called CORSIA – which uses antiquated European emissions estimates of corn and biofuel production. Adopting CORSIA would make it extremely challenging, if not impossible, for many biofuels to qualify for SAF tax credits.

Carbon accounting regulations will provide a path forward, and biofuel producers in Minnesota need greater certainty and timeliness in environmental permitting if SAF is to achieve lift-off.

Many businesses have moved outside of Minnesota due to permitting delays. Unpredictable permitting timelines limit investment and delay the installation of new equipment, technologies, and processes needed to reach net zero.

SAF has the potential to significantly reduce aviation’s carbon emissions. Minnesota farmers and biofuels producers have already helped produce transportation fuel that lowers greenhouse gas emissions by between 44 to 52% compared to traditional gasoline. They stand ready to meet the challenge on aviation fuel.

Minnesota is a top five producer of corn and ethanol, with the latter topping 15 billion gallons nationwide in 2022. These crops and fuels will be critical to the SAF movement, as farmers sell them as feedstocks to ethanol plants to produce the sustainable fuel needed to reduce aviation’s carbon emissions.

In Minnesota, that means making more than 20,000 farmers eligible to sell their feedstocks to the state’s 19 ethanol plants.

If the country is to meet the administration’s “Grand Challenge” of producing 35 billion gallons of SAF per year by 2050 — sustainably produced, lower-carbon biofuels must be eligible for the newly created SAF tax structure under the IRA.

In Minnesota, ethanol plants also need clearly defined timelines and permitting requirements for the state to become a hub for SAF and to help achieve the administration’s goal.

I applaud Gov. Walz, Commissioner Petersen, and Secretary Vilsack’s efforts to advocate on behalf of American biofuel producers and farmers who are eager to help achieve the SAF Grand Challenge’s goals, especially when it comes to Minnesota’s permitting process.

I urge the Biden administration to turn to us to get the job done in scaling up a cleaner aviation industry.

By Brian Werner

When greenhouse gases (GHGs) from transportation became the single largest source of emissions contributing to climate change, both in Minnesota and nationally, state lawmakers rightly began examining policy options that could reduce GHG emissions, improve air quality, and provide statewide economic benefits.

Those efforts ramped up this past year with the formation of the  Minnesota Clean Transportation Standard (CTS) Work Group.  This legislatively-established, Governor-appointed Work Group included a wide range of businesses and nonprofits that were tasked with preparing consensus recommendations for developing and implementing performance-based incentives to reduce the carbon intensity (CI) of all fuels used for transportation in Minnesota.

As a member of the Work Group, I had the opportunity to serve as one of 40 members charged with making recommendations to the state legislature on a CTS policy that could be successfully implemented in our diverse state. We made that recommendation earlier this month with 36 of the 40 participants doing the hard work of reaching a compromise that is best for all of Minnesota. It was disappointing to see so much focus upon release of the final report on the four dissenting organizations that pointed their fingers at rural communities and biofuels while refusing to make the necessary compromises to reach a consensus.

The majority consensus results of the Work Group report were clear: we cannot meet CTS targets for GHG emissions reductions without the use of biofuels. That’s because Minnesota’s farmers and biofuel producers already produce a readily available, lower carbon transportation fuel that is reducing emissions from vehicles on the road today. And as higher blends like E15 and E85 become more commonplace in the market, biofuels will contribute to an increasingly larger share of emissions reductions. 

Despite the outlier studies cited by the four dissenting organizations, the overwhelming majority of research conducted by USDA, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Harvard University, and the California Air Resources Board all confirm that ethanol lowers greenhouse gas emissions by  between 44 to 52 percent  compared to traditional gasoline.

And when it comes to GHG reductions from biofuel, we’re only scratching the surface. With the increased adoption of low-carbon farming practices, incorporation of renewable electricity and energy efficiency at biofuel production facilities, and the use of carbon capture technologies, the renewable fuels industry in Minnesota is rapidly on a path to net-zero or net-negative carbon emissions by 2050. 

Any approach that insists on only one fuel or technology as a silver bullet risks leaving air quality benefits on the table. If we want to be serious about addressing carbon emissions from transportation, we need to lean into realistic solutions that recognize the fact that large numbers of internal combustion vehicles will remain on the road for decades to come. As U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack  said,  “We’re going to have cars that use ethanol for a long, long time.” 

To prevent the worst impacts of climate change, we need more low-carbon options, not less. A Minnesota CTS program may or may not be signed into law this year, but either way Minnesota’s renewable fuel producers will be helping to deliver a lower-carbon transportation future.

This column first appeared as a Letter to the Editor in the Worthington Daily Globe.

I read with interest a recent article in the Minnesota Star Tribune examining the increasing popularity of Kwik Trip gas stations throughout the upper Midwest (“How Kwik Trip created a cult-like following in the Midwest”, September 28, 2024). 

According to the author, the growth of Kwik Trip can be explained by its ubiquitous footprint, large stores, affordable groceries, signature snacks, and friendly workforce. 

The Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association hosts fuel promotion events at gas stations around the Twin Cities metro area each year to educate drivers about the economic and environmental benefits of higher blends of ethanol in gasoline, including E15 (often marketed as Unleaded 88) and E85. When we talk to consumers about the criteria they seek in a convenience store, they rarely mention the reasons cited in the article.

According to a consumer survey conducted by the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) in 2024, 66 percent of consumers would drive five minutes out of their way to save five cents per gallon on fuel. Moreover, when NACS asked consumers why they prefer a specific gas station or chain, 56 percent of respondents cited lower prices. 

As a gas station, Kwik Trip has leaned into the sale of higher blends of ethanol like E15. Why? Because they know that it offers them a competitive advantage in bringing in consumers.

Unleaded 88 averages a $0.16 discount compared to regular E10 and the price gap between these two fuels can be as large as $0.30 - $0.40 in some locations. With the economy and inflation ranking as top issues on voters’ minds in the upcoming election, consumers are increasingly looking for fuel that is easier on their pocketbooks. Unleaded 88 can save them between $4.00 and $5.00 every time they fill up.

Convenience stores and gas stations around the state would be well served by following Kwik Trip’s example in providing consumer choice and affordability in fuel options. 

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