Juan Carlos Salazar is Secretary-General of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a specialized agency of the United Nations
The Secretary-General of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), Juan Carlos Salazar, and the Director of Environment, Jane Hupe, visited the Itaipu power plant on Thursday (October 3) and learned about the synthetic oil production facility using biogas, focusing on sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) manufacturing.
According to Salazar, ICAO is interested in promoting clean fuels for aviation, and Itaipu’s experience, along with its partners, can serve as an example to be replicated in other regions of the world.
“What we are seeing at this plant is of great interest because the main issue we are trying to address is how to generate fuels in developing countries, in remote regions, that may have raw materials—like biomass—but lack the mechanisms to produce fuel,” he stated.
“So, seeing a plant like this already operating, using biomass, and the technological processes to produce fuels that can be used in aviation is of great importance; it is revolutionary,” he added.
Photo credit: Kiko Sierich/Itaipu Binacional.
Located at Itaipu, alongside the Biogas and Biomethane Demonstration Unit, the Renewable Hydrocarbon Production Unit is a result of a partnership between Itaipu, the International Center for Renewable Energy (CIBiogás), and Brazil-Germany Cooperation for Sustainable Development, among other partners.
Regarding the Itaipu hydroelectric plant, Juan Carlos Salazar noted that the scale of the facility caught his attention, as well as the energy generation numbers. But that’s not all. “The project itself is incredible. However, at the same time, the recovery and protection of the environment, and the synergy between economic and social development of a region, is something that sets an example for the world,” he praised.
The International Civil Aviation Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN), made up of over 190 countries, headquartered in Canada, and its objectives include overseeing the application of the Chicago Convention, which established the foundations of aviation law.
