A lifelong aviation enthusiast who joined&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;in 2007, Curt came to&nbsp;the publication&nbsp;from the broadcast industry where he was a national science and technology television reporter and producer. He writes on the FBO field, aviation finance, and sustainable aviation and occasionally contributes to&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;sister publication&nbsp;Business Jet Traveler. Curt was a member of the AINtv reporting staff that won the 2008 Aerospace Journalist of the Year award for Best Airshow Daily. That same year, he was a finalist for another AJOYA award. He earned an AJOYA for Best Business Aviation Submission in 2018 and was a finalist in that category in 2021. He received the National Air Transportation Association’s&nbsp; Aviation Journalist Award in 2012 and won a Pegasus Sapphire Business Aviation Award for outstanding journalism in 2021.
Before joining AIN, Curt worked with&nbsp;Consumer Reports’ television division, CRTV, and for several local television news staffs. An honors graduate of the State University of New York at Stony Brook, he earned a master’s degree in broadcast journalism from Boston University in 1995. Curt lives in New York State with his wife and two young sons.

Senior Editor

Curt Epstein

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) made a nearly $3 billion investment in the future of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) this week with guaranteed loans to two major producers.
As part of the Biden Administration’s Investing in America agenda, the DOE’s loan program office issued a commitment for a finance package worth more than $1.4 billion to Calumet subsidiary Montana Renewables, which in the span of less than two years has become one of the largest SAF producers in the U.S. The loan would support the expansion of the company’s Great Falls, Montana facility from an output of 140 million gallons per year of biofuels (mainly renewable diesel) to 315 million gallons a year of mostly SAF.
That increased output alone would equal 10% of the <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2021-09-10/white-house-rolls-out-initiatives-boost-saf">SAF Grand Challenge</a> 2030 goal of 3 billion gallons of SAF production annually.
The second announced loan from the DOE is to Gevo Net-Zero-1 to finance the first commercial-scale corn starch-to-jet fuel plant, to be located in Lake Preston, South Dakota. The $1.46 billion loan guarantee will enable the construction of the facility, which will use locally grown, low-cost, low-carbon field corn as a feedstock.
It will also use carbon capture and sequestration as well as renewable power to lower emissions. The plant is anticipated to create 60 million gallons of SAF a year, and as a byproduct, it would generate 1.3 billion pounds of high-protein animal feed and 30 million pounds of corn oil.
Both projects are expected to create jobs in their local areas and contribute to the economic growth of their states and surrounding areas.

News about environmental issues relating to aircraft operations, including noise issues, emissisions, and regulations. See Fuel for biofuel.

Biden Administration Makes a $3B Investment in Sustainable Aviation Fuel

Loan packages fund producers in Montana and South Dakota

The Biden Administration announced a major funding initiative for the SAF industry.

Biden Administration Swings Big on SAF

2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

Sarah Rose

News and issues concerning general aviation, specifically airplanes and helicopters powered by piston and alternative engines (i.e., non-turbine powered aircraft). Subjects include aircraft, engines, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security and training.

Company exceeds 1.6 million tons of CO2 offset

Sentient Jet Updates Annual Sustainability Progress

News and developments about aviation fuel, including jet fuel, aviation gasoline, and biofuel.

News and issues relating to international air transport and cargo carriers, national airlines and regional airlines, including aircraft, engines, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security and training.

News and issues relating to business, corporate and private aviation, primarily regarding turbine-engine-powered airplanes and helicopters. Subjects include aircraft, engines, maintenance, operations, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security, and training.

Study predicts a nearly sevenfold growth 

U.S. SAF Market To Hit $7 Billion by 2030

News and issues relating to the aerospace industry that are related to the science, engineering and business of flight in space involving civil, industrial and military applications, and similar topics related to flight in the atmosphere of the Earth that are not covered more directly by other AINonline subject channels. In other words, both astronautical and aeronautical subjects, except for those aeronautical topics that are specifically covered elsewhere on this website.

The site will produce up to 165 million gallons of SAF a year

Neste Starts SAF Production at Rotterdam Facility

The online feature helps streamline the SAF usage process

World Fuel Rolls Out SAF Book-and-claim Tool

Charles Alcock

News and issues concerning the aviation charter and fractional-ownership industries and markets, including company announcements, regulations, new developments and labor issues.

Europe-based group says new feature is first of its kind in business aviation 

Luxaviation Adds Real-time Carbon Calculator to App

New developments at FBOs including regulations and noise issues; legal disputes; openings, acquisitions and mergers.

California FBO received the new truck last week

Avfuel Delivers First Fully Electric Jet Refueler

Kerry Lynch

AvfuelZero Portal houses all necessary documentation for SAF and carbon emissions reporting

Avfuel Launches Portal To Streamline SAF Documentation

News and developments about aircraft engines, including turbofan, turboprop, turboshaft and piston.

News about bills, laws, regulations and other governmental decisions affecting aviation and aerospace. Topics include FAA re-authorizations, taxes on fuel and aviation activities, environmental legislation, ICAO decisions, governmental mediation of labor conflicts and World Trade Organization disputes and decisions.

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