暗黑爆料

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Airplanes flying in or out of a Mountain West airport now can gas up with a blend of jet fuel and livestock fat.

This spring, the Eagle County Regional Airport near Vail, Colorado, began offering the fatty jet fuel sourced from unwanted livestock tallow, as reported by the . It's a so-called , or SAF, with a lower carbon footprint.

Brian Batty works for Signature Flight Support, an aviation operations company that recently acquired the Vail Valley Jet Center. He says its SAF fuel reduces lifetime carbon dioxide emissions by 25% compared to fossil jet fuel.

鈥淲hich is a great impact to the environment 鈥� to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions,鈥� Batty said in an interview with the Mountain West 暗黑爆料 Bureau. 鈥淲e鈥檙e working towards getting the entire aviation industry to lower their carbon footprint.鈥�

Batty says the industry can make changes in aircraft design, use fewer engines while taxiing or chart more efficient flight routes, but those things matter little compared to jet fuel emissions.

鈥淚n the long run, SAF is going to have to bear the biggest burden to reduce the carbon that鈥檚 actually put out as the aircrafts move,鈥� Batty said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the biggest impact we can make and that鈥檚 why this journey鈥檚 so important.鈥�

Aviation accounts for more than 2% of global CO2 emissions, the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions.

Signature's SAF blend is about 30% derived from tallow and 70% traditional jet fuel. According to Signature Marketing Analyst Matt Franklin, traditional Jet A fuel at the Colorado airport is at $9.84 per gallon, as of Friday, while SAF fuel is at $10.64 per gallon. He emphasized that, like many things right now, fuel aviation prices are inflated.

This story was produced by the Mountain West 暗黑爆料 Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, the O'Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain West in Montana, KUNC in Colorado, KUNM in New Mexico, with support from affiliate stations across the region. Funding for the Mountain West 暗黑爆料 Bureau is provided in part by the .

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