The Renewable Transport Fuel Obligations (Sustainable Aviation Fuel) Order 2024

2 Interpretation

(1) In this Order— “the 1979 Act” means the Hydrocarbon Oil Duties Act 1979; “the 2004 Act” means the Energy Act 2004; “account holder” means a supplier or other person for which the Administrator establishes an account in accordance with article 6; “additional sustainability information” means the additional sustainability information specified in the guidance published by the Administrator under article 14(1)(f); “assessment time” means— for hydrogen that is attributable to a relevant feedstock, the time at which it is sold to a customer; and for aviation fuel that does not fall within sub-paragraph (a), the time at which the requirement under the 1979 Act to pay the duty of excise with which that fuel is chargeable took effect; “aviation fuel” means a transport fuel for use in aircraft, or for use in testing engines for use in aircraft, but excludes detergents, cetane improvers, lubricity improvers, viscosity improvers, oxidation inhibitors, gum inhibitors, anti-corrosive preparations and similar substances intended for use as fuel additives; “aviation gasoline” means aviation fuel which is aviation gasoline within the meaning given in section 1(3D) of the 1979 Act and which meets one of the following standards— ASTM International standard D910 (as revised or re-issued from time to time); Ministry of Defence standard 91–090 (as revised or re-issued from time to time); or a standard that is equivalent to either of the standards mentioned in paragraphs (a) and (b); “aviation turbine fuel” means aviation fuel— which consists of heavy oil within the meaning of section 1(4) of the 1979 Act; of which more than 50 per cent by volume distils at a temperature of 240 degrees centigrade or less; which is to be used as a fuel for aircraft; and which meets one of the following standards— ASTM International standard D1655 (as revised or re-issued from time to time); Ministry of Defence standard 91–091 (as revised or re-issued from time to time); or a standard that is equivalent to either of the standards mentioned in sub-paragraphs (i) and (ii); “connected person” means, in relation to a supplier, a person connected to the supplier within the meaning of section 1122 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010; “energy-derived aviation fuel” means sustainable aviation fuel of non-biological origin— the energy content of which comes from nuclear sources or renewable sources, other than biomass; and which is not made from— biofuels; or a carbon source that has been generated for the purpose of converting it into a fuel for use in aircraft; “forest biomass” means biomass produced from forestry; “forest criteria” means the criteria set out in Schedule 3; “land criteria” means the criteria set out in Schedule 2; “lower heating value” means the energy (in megajoules per kilogram) released during combustion of an aviation fuel determined by the Administrator and published in guidance under article 14(1)(f); “main obligation” means a supplier’s obligation under article 3(4); “non-obligated supplier” means a supplier other than one on which a SAF obligation is imposed under article 3; “obligated supplier” means a supplier on which a SAF obligation is imposed under article 3; “obligation period” has the meaning given in article 3(3); “power-to-liquid aviation fuel” means energy-derived aviation fuel which is aviation turbine fuel; “power-to-liquid aviation fuel obligation” has the meaning given in article 3(5); “processing residue” means, in relation to a production process, a substance— that is not the end product sought directly from the process; the production of which is not a primary aim of the process; and in respect of which the process has not been deliberately modified in order to produce it; “recycled carbon fuel” means a sustainable aviation fuel designated under paragraph (4); “relevant aviation turbine fuel” means aviation turbine fuel owned by a supplier at the assessment time and supplied by that supplier at, or for delivery to, places in the United Kingdom; “relevant feedstock” means— processing residues of biological origin; renewable sources, other than biomass, or nuclear sources used to produce energy-derived aviation fuel; residues from agriculture, aquaculture, fisheries or forestry; wastes of biological origin; and wastes of fossil origin that have been designated as a relevant feedstock under article 15; “relevant sustainable aviation fuel” means sustainable aviation fuel owned by a supplier at the assessment time and supplied by that supplier at, or for delivery to, places in the United Kingdom; “renewable” means, in relation to a type of aviation fuel, fuel of that type that is renewable transport fuel or a fuel of that type which is to be treated as a renewable transport fuel in accordance with section 131D(2) of the 2004 Act; “renewable energy obligation” means a scheme, including a scheme under which such requirements may be fulfilled by using RTF certificates or certificates equivalent to RTF certificates, which requires— an energy producer to include a given share of energy from renewable sources in their production; an energy supplier to include a given share of energy from renewable sources in their supply; or an energy consumer to include a given share of energy from renewable sources in their consumption; “SAF account” means an account which is established under article 6; “SAF certificate” means an RTF certificate issued for the supply of relevant sustainable aviation fuel in accordance with article 18; “SAF obligation” means a renewable transport fuel obligation under section 124(2) of the 2004 Act; “segregated oils and fats” means material that is capable of being used as a transport fuel directly, after extraction, or after conversion by transesterification; “soil carbon criteria” means the criteria in paragraph 3 of Schedule 1; “supplier” means a person that, in the course of their business, supplies aviation fuel at or for delivery to places in the United Kingdom; “support scheme” means any instrument, scheme or mechanism that promotes the use of energy from renewable sources by— reducing the cost of that energy; increasing the price at which that energy can be sold; or increasing, by means of a renewable energy obligation or otherwise, the volume of such energy purchased, and, for this purpose, “instrument, scheme or mechanism” includes any renewable fuel obligation, or direct price scheme including feed-in tariffs and sliding or fixed premium payments, and excludes any investment aid, tax exemption or reduction, and tax refund; “sustainability criteria” means the criteria for feedstocks used to produce sustainable aviation fuel set out in Schedule 1; “sustainable aviation fuel” means aviation fuel which is a liquid or gaseous renewable transport fuel and is one of the following specified types of renewable transport fuel— aviation gasoline; aviation turbine fuel; and subject to paragraph (2), hydrogen; “sustainable feedstock” means a relevant feedstock, which— to the extent that it consists of material other than forest biomass, residues from agriculture or wastes from agriculture, meets the land criteria; to the extent that it consists of forest biomass, meets the forest criteria; to the extent that it consists of residues from agriculture or wastes from agriculture, meets the land criteria and the soil carbon criteria; to the extent that it consists of wastes of fossil origin, meets the sustainable waste management criteria; “sustainable waste management criteria” means the criteria set out in paragraph 4 of Schedule 1; “type of SAF certificate” means the specification as to the type of sustainable aviation fuel to which a SAF certificate relates in accordance with article 18(4); “verifier’s assurance report” means a report which meets the requirements of article 17(1); “verifier’s declaration” means a declaration which meets the requirements of article 17(2); “waste” means any substance or object which the holder discards, or intends or is required to discard, but does not include any substance or object that has been intentionally modified or contaminated for the purpose of transforming it into a waste; “working day” means any day other than a Saturday or a Sunday, or a day which is a bank holiday under the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971. (2) For hydrogen produced using wastes of fossil origin, that hydrogen is only to be considered a specified type of renewable transport fuel under paragraph (c) of the definition of “sustainable aviation fuel” if the carbon emitted during its production is captured and stored in a manner determined by the Administrator and published in guidance under article 14(1)(f). (3) For the purposes of paragraph (d) of the definition of “renewable transport fuel” in section 132(1) of the 2004 Act, solid, liquid or gaseous fuel that does not fall within paragraphs (a) to (c) of that definition, and which is produced wholly or partly from a feedstock described in paragraphs (a) to (d) of the definition of relevant feedstock, is designated as a renewable transport fuel. (4) For the purposes of section 131D(1)(a) of the 2004 Act, sustainable aviation fuel produced wholly from wastes of fossil origin designated as a relevant feedstock is designated as a recycled carbon fuel. (5) For the purposes of section 131D(1)(b) of the 2004 Act, energy-derived aviation fuel produced wholly from nuclear sources is designated as a nuclear-derived fuel. (6) For the purposes of this Order and of section 132(4) of the 2004 Act, “biomass” means the biodegradable portion of— (a) processing residue; (b) any product; (c) residues from agriculture, aquaculture, fisheries or forestry; or (d) any waste. (7) In this Order, residues from agriculture, aquaculture, fisheries or forestry must be directly generated from agriculture, aquaculture, fisheries or forestry and exclude residues from related industries or processing.