Polski
SAF Beats the EU Target, While Manure-Based Biogas Cashes In on Tax Credits
September shows that biofuels and biogas are moving ever more confidently out of the "promising technology" phase and into the phase of hard numbers — both in terms of emissions and finances. On one side of the Atlantic, the EU's aviation fuel mandate turned out to be more effective than expected; on the other, the American agricultural biogas industry has found an efficient way to turn tax credits into cash for further investment. Let's take a closer look at both stories.
01 · Aviation Biofuels
Sustainable Aviation Fuel Outpaces the EU's Ambitions
On September 17, 2026, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) published a report showing clearly that the EU regulation mandating a share of SAF in aviation fuel has worked better than expected. Deliveries of sustainable aviation fuel at EU airports reached 1.1 million tonnes in 2025, equivalent to 2.8% of all aviation fuel consumed — well above the required minimum of 2% [1].
The market dynamics look even more interesting: SAF production grew almost sixfold year-on-year, with as much as 86% of that volume produced at facilities located within the EU. That's a significant signal — Europe isn't just consuming more sustainable aviation fuel, it's also building up its own production capacity rather than relying on imports from other regions of the world. Used cooking oil remains the dominant feedstock, accounting for as much as 80% of production volume, which shows just how important efficient management of food and fat waste has become for aviation decarbonization today [1].
The environmental effect of these figures is measurable: substituting fossil fuel with SAF avoided roughly 3.77 million tonnes of CO2 emissions annually. For the biofuels industry, this is concrete confirmation of a claim producers have been making for years — a well-designed regulatory mandate can drive real, measurable market growth far faster than the cautious forecasts of a few years ago assumed. It's also a signal for investors considering entering the SAF segment in Europe: regulatory demand is real, not merely declarative [1].
02 · Agricultural Biogas
American Agricultural Biogas Monetizes Tax Credits
An equally important signal is coming from the other side of the ocean — this time concerning the financing of further biogas plant development. On September 24, 2026, Clean Energy Fuels Corp. finalized the sale of federal tax credits worth a total of $30.7 million, generated by seven renewable natural gas (RNG) facilities owned by the company. This is already the fourth transaction of this kind in the company's portfolio, showing that the mechanism is starting to work repeatedly rather than as a one-off [2].
The largest element of the package was a $26 million Investment Tax Credit (ITC) tied to the South Fork Dairy facility in Texas, which only came online in 2025. The mechanism itself is simple but effective: companies producing RNG from animal manure generate the tax credits they're entitled to through their investments, then sell those credits to outside investors, generating cash to finance further projects — without having to wait until their own tax liabilities are large enough to use the credits themselves [2].
This is a good illustration of how American tax policy — not just grants, subsidies, or feed-in tariff support schemes — can genuinely drive investment in agricultural biogas. For European, including Polish, biogas plant operators, it's an inspiring example worth watching: could similar financial instruments based on trading tax credits accelerate the sector's development along the Vistula as well someday [2].
Summary
Summary
This week shows two sides of the same coin: regulations that genuinely increase the share of biofuels in the market — as with SAF in aviation — and financial instruments that accelerate the build-out of biogas infrastructure, as with the sale of tax credits in the US. In both cases, it's clear that the renewable fuels and gases sector is maturing and starting to operate on hard, measurable mechanisms rather than declarations alone.
Both threads — advanced biofuel production from waste and the financing of agricultural biogas — will be among the hot topics at BioPower Poland 2026 – Branżowe Targi Biogazu, Biometanu, Biopaliw i Biomasy. If you want to talk about how similar regulatory and financial mechanisms could work in the Polish market, join us at the meeting place for the whole industry.
Invitation
From SAF mandates to tax credits fueling agricultural biogas plants — the renewable fuels and gases market is growing on the back of real regulatory and financial mechanisms. Want to know how to put similar solutions to work in Poland? Let's meet at BioPower Poland 2026, where the biogas, biomethane, biofuel, and biomass industry exchanges experience and builds business connections. Reserve your spot today.
BioPower Poland 2026Footnotes
[1] EASA — https://www.easa.europa.eu/en/newsroom-and-events/press-releases/eu-sustainable-aviation-fuel-supply-exceeds-2025-refueleu-aviation-target[2] Coalition for Renewable Natural Gas — https://www.rngcoalition.com/news/fjffchy4wexetl9-jxp2f-2blf4-s2epn-zh74e-maxkx-978dg-mlbxs-47gpn-7wyt4-rw7zl-9r4se-kffwb-9sd7d-7wlny-y4t3l-x48he-swcg4-64sr3-9bk4k-2nphy-wh3rp-ljf56