Some prominent names in agriculture are associated with a new group advocating for carbon capture pipeline projects.
Tom Buis, former leader of the National Farmers Union and CEO of Growth Energy, is now the CEO of the American Carbon Alliance. He said the group has formed to tell the story of carbon capture “and what that means not just to the ethanol industry, to farmers, to rural communities — everyone has a stake in the rural economy.”
There are multiple carbon capture pipeline projects in the works in the Midwest, aiming to capture greenhouse gas emissions from ethanol plants. Advocates say the projects will help ensure ethanol remains viable as a fuel, benefiting corn growers and the rural economy.
The projects have been met with some resistance from environmentalists and some landowners who don’t want a hazardous materials pipeline on their property.
“Debates are often around more emotional issues, and not about that economic opportunity that exists out there,” Buis said in an interview from Omaha, Nebraska, where he was attending the Fuel Ethanol Workshop, three days of meetings and panel discussions on ethanol June 12-14.
Among the senior advisers is Collin Peterson , former congressman from Minnesota who spent time as chairman of the House Agriculture Committee.
Peterson said he and Buis were recruited to head up the alliance, “try to educate the public, and farmers and agriculture about the profitability and potential of carbon as another revenue source in agriculture.”
The Inflation Reduction Act included tax credits, known as 45Q and 45Z tax credits, to stimulate investment in carbon capture and storage, providing potentially millions of dollars for companies that develop such projects.
“All of a sudden, carbon is profitable,” Peterson said in an interview at the Midwest Agricultural Summit in West Fargo, North Dakota, on June 6.
Iowa is the center of carbon capture for the ethanol industry. Iowa-based Summit Carbon Solutions is behind the largest project, 2,000 miles of pipeline connecting more than 30 ethanol plants to an underground sequestration site in North Dakota.
Source: agweek.com
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Categories: South Dakota, Energy, General