ELLY GRIMM
• Leader & Times
Wednesday was a big day for Liberal and the environment with the groundbreaking of a pilot plant to help produce sustainable aviation fuel, and many were on hand to speak, including a few company CEOs.
Up first to speak was Conestoga Energy CEO Tom Willis.
“We're very appreciative of everyone who came out to celebrate this groundbreaking. This is a VERY big deal. 19 years ago, there was a vacant field where Arkalon Ethanol now sits, and it was a local dream to help make the U.S. energy-independent and also help the environment,” Willis said. “The plant has currently produced more than 2 billion gallons of renewable, clean energy for the country, and as far as I know, there was not a single story where neighboring farmers shot each other in producing the feedstock that helped make this happen. That all started right here. Remember Aug. 28, 2024, because this is a day when Western Kansas goes from producing natural gas energy to the start of producing sustainable aviation fuel with our partner, SAFFiRE. This is transformational for Southwest Kansas, the aviation industry, and agriculture and the value it brings, and it all started right here. I was having dinner with Tom Nealon recently talking about the size of the plant and some of the more logistical details, and he asked 'Are you sure you have enough room?' and I said 'We'll MAKE the room.' Eastern Kansas is known for building aircraft, we want Western Kansas to be known for fueling aircraft. I want to thank everyone from SAFFiRE and their partners, because they did an amazing job putting all of this together, and I also want to thank all of the Conestoga Energy staff for all of their hard work and dedication.”
SAFFiRE CEO Tom Nealon also praised the project.
“There is a lot of thanks to give with this project, starting with Tom [Willis], because we'd pretty much made our decision about where we were going to put our first facility by the time we first met, and we knew we'd be coming to Liberal and Conestoga,” Nealon said. “There are just so many natural facilities around here for the sequestration and all of that, and of course, the corn. There's been no one more committed – besides us – to this project than Tom, and he's a good chunk of the reason we decided to come to Liberal, along with all the great people around, so I have to thank all of Conestoga. Southwest Airlines is our parent company, and I also want to thank them for all of their work and dedication. There are many other partners and others who have been part of this project, and words alone couldn't express how thankful we are for their support and work. We also couldn't get this done without political partners at all levels, and everyone has been great to work with on this project. A question we've gotten a lot is why we're getting into this business – we get asked 'You're already in a difficult business, why are you trying to build an energy technology company?' There have been several high-profile cellulosic failures throughout the past couple decades, and there's always that air of 'Here we go again, but what's different this time?' We've been studying this for years and years, and we know why this will work, and we have confidence in the technology, which is fundamentally different than what's been used in the past, so we feel very confident in that, and I can't give enough praise to the people who actually developed this technology that will be used.”
A big objective, not just of the plant, but also of the aviation industry, is to help achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, Nealon said.
“A big challenge with that is there's not really a way to do that today – we've seen some improvements and tweaks along the way toward that, but there are only two factors of the scale and magnitude that would allow any air carrier to achieve carbon neutrality,” Nealon said. “The first thing is at some point, we're going to need new propulsion technology, new engines, new aircraft, and that will happen, but the issue is, it will take multiple decades, and that includes the designs, testing, etc., so it will take long time, so the only option now is creating sustainable aviation fuel. Southwest Airlines burns about 2.5 billion gallons of Jet A, and that will only continue increasing as time goes on, and the U.S. aviation industry will burn about 35 billion gallons of Jet A, so there's a tremendous need for sustainable aviation fuel. We happen to be huge believers in ethanol, at Southwest Airlines, and we believe the Ethanol to Jet pathway is the most advantageous route as far as production and everything else. We also need every other pathway and every cog to work. We're also currently partnering with LanzaJet and have invested in them as well. What will happen is we'll create the Gen 2 ethanol in Liberal, which will then be shipped to LanzaJet, and it will be converted at their Georgia facility into jet fuel. We've got all the pieces coming together – we've got the ethanol piece and the Ethanol to Jet piece, and there are many other pieces getting finalized. SAFFiRE is a second-generation ethanol product, and we don't see it as being competitive with Gen 1, we see it as complementary to it. I again can't emphasize enough the importance of the strong advocacy and partners we have on the political side at all levels, which is a huge deal.”
National Sorghum Producers CEO Tim Lust also gave his praise of the project.
“I've been in this industry for about 30 years now, and on behalf of farmers, I have to give thanks to the corn industry for paving the way to the ethanol industry,” Lust said. “Something else that's really important is water – that is a reality for the Ogallala world, and that's where our industry comes in. What it takes for projects like this to work and be successful is all about believers, and it's been amazing to work with the Conestoga group from the early days with the leadership and the vision they have for the agricultural field and its future. It's no secret how things are somewhat turbulent internationally, and I don't think that'll get smoother anytime soon, and that signifies the importance of taking care of our partners in the U.S. and in our local communities.”
