Sec. 110011. Alternative fuel and low-emission aviation technology program
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In addition to amounts otherwise made available, there is appropriated for fiscal year 2022, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, $1,000,000,000, to remain available until September 30, 2026, for the Secretary of Transportation to provide grants to, and enter into cost-sharing agreements with, eligible entities to carry out projects located in the United States that— develop, demonstrate, or apply low-emission aviation technologies; or produce, transport, blend, or store sustainable aviation fuels that would reduce greenhouse gas emissions attributable to the operation of aircraft that have fuel uplift in the United States.
In carrying out subsection (a), the Secretary shall consider, with respect to a proposed project— the anticipated public benefits of the project; the potential to increase the domestic production and deployment of sustainable aviation fuel or the use of low-emission aviation technologies among the United States commercial aviation and aerospace industry; the potential for creating new jobs in the United States; the potential the project has to reduce or displace, on a lifecycle basis, United States greenhouse gas emissions associated with air travel; the proposed utilization of non-Federal cost-share contributions; for projects related to the production of sustainable aviation fuel, the potential net greenhouse gas emissions impact of such fuel on a lifecycle basis, which shall include feedstock, fuel production, and potential direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions (including resulting from changes in land use); how the project will strengthen the leadership of the United States in either sustainable aviation fuels or in low-emission aviation technologies; the benefits of ensuring a diversity of feedstocks for sustainable aviation fuel, including the use of waste carbon oxides and direct air capture; the potential for partnerships with relevant supply chain stakeholders for sustainable aviation fuel; the potential to leverage existing industrial infrastructure to accelerate the deployment of sustainable aviation fuels; aeronautical construction and design improvements that result in more efficient aircraft, including new aircraft architectures, innovative propulsion integration, and high-performance lightweight materials; more efficient aircraft engines, including innovative engine architectures, hybrid-electric engines, and all-electric engines suitable for fully or partially powering aircraft operations; and air traffic management and navigation technologies that permit more efficient flight patterns.
Of the amount made available under subsection (a), 30 percent of such amount shall be awarded for projects described in subsection (a)(1) and 70 percent of such amount shall be awarded for projects described in subsection (a)(2). The Secretary shall determine a higher Federal share of project costs for any cost-share agreement or grant awarded to any eligible recipient for a project under subsection
(a)that involves a low-emission aviation technology that exceeds a 20 percent reduction in fuel burn compared to current best in class aircraft or a sustainable aviation fuel that substantially exceeds a 50 percent lifecycle greenhouse gas emission reduction compared to conventional jet fuels. As a condition of receiving funds under this section, the Secretary may approve an award under this section only if the Secretary has received written assurances from the recipient that— any low-emission aviation technology that is funded or is part of a project funded by a grant under subsection (a)(1) is produced in the United States; any sustainable aviation fuel that is part of a project funded by a grant under subsection (a)(2) is— produced in the United States; and is not derived from feedstocks that are developed through practices that threaten mass deforestation, harm biodiversity, or otherwise promote environmentally unsustainable processes; and the recipient of grant funding has adequately considered the environmental justice and equity impacts of any project on underserved communities. Section 47112(a) of title 49, United States Code, is amended by inserting or labor for a project funded under section 110011 of the Act entitled after An Act to provide for reconciliation pursuant to title II of S. Con. Res. 14 this subchapter . The Secretary may retain up to 1 percent of the funds provided under this section to fund the award of, and oversight by the Secretary of, grants made under this section. In this section: The term eligible entity means— a State or local government other than an airport sponsor; an air carrier; an airport sponsor; an accredited institution of higher education; a person or entity engaged in the production, transportation, blending or storage of sustainable aviation fuel or feedstocks that could be used to produce sustainable aviation fuel; a person or entity engaged in the development, demonstration, or application of low-emission aviation technologies; or nonprofit entities or nonprofit consortia with experience in sustainable aviation fuel, low-emission technology, or other clean transportation research programs. The term low-emission aviation technology means technologies that significantly— improve aircraft fuel efficiency; increase utilization of sustainable aviation fuels; or reduce greenhouse gas emissions produced during operation of civil aircraft. The term sustainable aviation fuel means liquid fuel that— consists of synthesized hydrocarbons; meets the requirements of— ASTM International Standard D7566; or the co-processing provisions of ASTM International Standard D1655, Annex A1 (or such successor standard); is derived from biomass (as such term is defined in section 45K(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986), waste streams, renewable energy sources or gaseous carbon oxides; is not derived from palm fatty acid distillates; and achieves at least a 50 percent lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions reduction in comparison with petroleum-based jet fuel, as determined by a test that shows— the fuel production pathway achieves at least a 50 percent reduction of the aggregate attributional core lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions and the induced land use change values under the lifecycle methodology for sustainable aviation fuel adopted by the International Civil Aviation Organization for the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation with the agreement of the United States; or the fuel production pathway achieves at least a 50 percent reduction of the aggregate attributional core lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions values under another methodology that the Secretary, in consultation with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, determines is— reflective of the latest scientific understanding of lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions; and as stringent as the requirement under clause (i). For purposes of clause
(ii)of subsection (h)(3)(E), the Secretary, in consultation with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, shall, not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this section, adopt at least 1 methodology for testing lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions that meets the requirements of such clause.