€780m plant in Spain to turn farm waste into SAF

Spanish green energy company Solarig will spend €780m on a plant for making aviation fuel from agricultural waste in northeast Spain.

When complete in 2026, it will produce 60,000 tonnes a year, enough for 12,000 flights between Madrid and Mallorca.

Built in an industrial park in the municipality of Garray, it will be powered by a 370MW solar farm and a 50MW wind farm, supplemented by a 100MWh-capacity battery.

Aviation accounts for up to 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions. It’s expected that a total switch to sustainable fuel could contribute around 65% of the reduction in emissions needed by aviation to reach net zero by 2050.

The new plant will combine two methods of producing : gas-to-liquid,  which will produce biomethane from waste, and power-to-liquid, which will combine biogenic carbon dioxide with green hydrogen.