You can’t power aircraft with renewable energy

Myth:

You cannot power commercial aircraft with renewable energy. They need oil-based aviation fuel. 

Fact:

Aviation is actually one of the easiest industries to decarbonise. All that is needed is to replace traditional fuel sources with sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). SAF can be made from feedstock, vegetable oil, used cooking oil, algae or even household waste. It is carbon neutral, as it draws in CO₂ when it’s produced (i.e. grown), then expels it when it’s burned. Using this fuel source can cut CO₂ emissions by as much as 80 percent when compared with conventional sources.

The beauty of using SAF is that it doesn’t require any modification to either planes or airport infrastructure. Virgin Atlantic proved this on November 28, 2023 when it flew one of their commercial airliners from London to New York powered entirely by SAF.

The problem is that SAF is expensive. To use it would raise the cost of air travel by about 140 percent – a not insignificant amount. Of course, over time costs will fall dramatically, once economies of scale are achieved, but that will not be till the middle of the next decade. 

A Boeing 787, of the type flown across the Atlantic by Virgin, powered entirely by SAF. [Source: Wikimedia Commons]

Sources:

Damian Carrington, “World’s largest all electric aircraft set for first commercial flight,” The Guardian, 28/5/20

Patrick Hatch, “‘A green adventure’: Is carbon-free flying possible?” Sydney Morning Herald, 24/10/21

Royce Kurmelovs, “Electric planes sound like a fantasy but they may be the future for short-haul in Australia,” The Guardian, 9/1/23

Natalie Clarkson, “Flight100: Virgin Atlantic flies its first 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel flight,” Virgin, 29/11/23

Julia Buckley, “This small airplane could hold the key to zero-carbon flying,” CNN, 20/1/23

“Electra secures $9bn in pre-orders for EL9 hybrid-electric aircraft,” Airport Technology, 20/3/25

The Electric Viking, “World’s largest electric plane just flew – on $5 of electricity,” YouTube, 28/8/26. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sItidMkTjQ0