Georgia agricultural, forestry and business leaders launched a new coalition Wednesday aimed at turning the state's pine trees and crop waste into jet fuel, a pitch that doubles as a lifeline for a timber industry battered by mill closures and hurricane damage. The Georgia Sustainable Aviation Fuel Coalition was established by the Metro Atlanta Chamber, Georgia Farm Bureau, Georgia Forestry Association and Delta Air Lines, with the goal of advancing research and biofuel production across the state.
The launch event took place at the Delta Flight Museum in Atlanta, drawing state political leaders including Georgia House Speaker Jon Burns and Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper, according to Delta News Hub. As WSB-TV reports, Metro Atlanta Chamber president and CEO Katie Kirkpatrick said the coalition is about aligning Georgia's natural strengths with real market demand, pointing to the state's 22 million acres of working forests as a built-in advantage.
A Timber Industry In Crisis Looks For New Buyers
The timing is no accident. Georgia's forestry sector has been reeling since 2025 and 2026, amid major paper mill closures in Savannah, Riceboro and Cedar Springs. Those closures came on top of $1.28 billion in timberland damage from Hurricane Helene in late 2024, a one-two punch that left forest landowners searching for somewhere else to sell their pulpwood, per Capitol Beat.
Sustainable aviation fuel, or SAF, is processed from agricultural and forestry feedstocks and is designed to reduce air travel emissions while remaining compatible with existing aircraft and fueling infrastructure, the same WSB-TV report notes. Georgia's effort is focused on exploring ways to turn agricultural and forestry materials into jet fuel.
State Law And Federal Credits Line Up Behind The Push
Georgia lawmakers have already built financial scaffolding for the effort. The Keep Georgia Forested Act, known as House Bill 134, was signed into law by Gov. Brian Kemp in May 2026 and allows companies to transfer certain tax credits during early construction and operational stages, supporting forestry manufacturing and biofuel production facilities. The Georgia Conservancy notes the law permits eligible forestry manufacturers to transfer Jobs and Investment Tax Credits during a five-year window, subject to annual reporting requirements and a $250 million total credit cap.
Those state incentives are paired with federal ones. IRS Notice 2026-53, issued in September 2026, established updated emissions rate tables for the federal Section 45Z Clean Fuel Production Credit, offering tax credits to qualified U.S. clean fuel producers based on lifecycle greenhouse gas reductions through 2029, per the Internal Revenue Service. Georgia also received support from federal agriculture officials for the public-private initiative, according to WSB-TV's reporting.
Delta And Industry Heavyweights Sign On As Partners
Boeing, Cox Enterprises and Norfolk Southern are serving as anchor partners of the project, with Ryam and Gulfstream Aerospace joining as supporting partners. Delta Air Lines President Peter Carter said Georgia is well positioned to become a national leader in sustainable aviation fuel, a claim rooted in the Atlanta-based carrier's own commitments: Delta has pledged to replace 10% of its conventional jet fuel with SAF by 2030, with a focus on securing supplies from Southeastern regional producers, according to Delta Air Lines.
Coalition members also joined the Georgia Research Alliance to secure state funding for an eminent scholar focused on forestry research and biofuel development. That effort builds on Gov. Kemp's January 2026 budget proposal, which allocated $10.9 million for a Georgia Forestry Innovation Initiative in partnership with Georgia Tech to research emerging commercial markets for state timber, including bio-based energy and fuels, according to Science for Georgia.
The Market Opportunity — And The Open Questions
Georgia's aviation market is driven largely by flight operations at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
Still, important questions remain. Whether timber-to-jet technology can scale fast enough, and whether federal carbon-intensity modeling will let timber-derived fuels maximize those 45Z tax credits, will shape how far Georgia's new coalition can go.
