The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) is urging the Iowa Utilities Commission (IUC) to establish a hearing schedule for the Summit Carbon Solutions carbon capture, use, and sequestration (CCUS) pipeline project permit request that was submitted six months ago.
“For twenty-five years, Iowa has benefited greatly from being the most profitable place in the world to convert corn into ethanol,” the filing states. “That is no longer the case because a carbon capture project in Nebraska began operations last fall. There is not a question on the economic benefits: carbon capture and sequestration is happening, and it is happening right here in the Midwest. The only question is whether Iowa will be left behind for months or forever.”
IRFA Policy Director Colin Gorton repeated the request at the IUC meeting this week. “After six months, IRFA can see no reason to delay holding a scheduling conference for this important issue,” Gorton said. “The 27 ethanol plants that are part of the Summit project stand to generate nearly $2 billion annually in additional revenue from CCUS. To underscore the urgency of the situation, that is nearly $5.25 million of forgone revenue for Iowa’s ethanol plants each and every day. At a moment when farmers are struggling and rural economies are hurting, this is incredibly critical.”
Summit recently announced it is altering the route of its proposed pipeline across Iowa “helping accelerate progress toward construction and delivery of long-term economic opportunities for agriculture and rural communities.”
The updated route reduces overall project complexity, with fewer impacted miles and fewer impacted landowners, allowing for a more focused and streamlined regulatory process. Summit will remove the proposed routes in Shelby, Pottawattamie, Montgomery, Adams, Page, Fremont, Mitchell, and Worth counties, while also reducing pipeline mileage in Crawford, Floyd, Sioux, and Dickinson counties. In total, the refinements will remove more than 400 landowners from the project footprint and reduce the overall scope of the project by approximately 200 miles.
The project will continue to work with a strong core group of ethanol facilities, including 27* in Iowa. At this time, the company will not pursue routes to Absolute Energy, POET Corning, POET Hanlontown, or Green Plains Shanandoah.
IRFA notes that many competing states have CCUS projects that are in operation or are moving forward, including Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, Illinois, and Indiana, while international competitor Brazil is also embracing CCUS since ultra-low carbon ethanol is needed to compete in emerging markets like ocean-going marine vessels and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).