Iowa Utilities Board approves Summit’s CO2 pipeline

Summit Carbon Solutions announced that it has received approval from the Iowa Utilities Board to build its carbon capture pipeline to capture carbon emissions from ethanol plants in the Midwest.

Iowa is home to US’s majority of ethanol production. The pipeline will help reduce carbon intensity score of ethanol which can be utilised towards fuel production including sustainable aviation fuel.

The approval comes following a two-and-a-half years of application process which was marred by controversy.

Following the approval, Summit will begin construction on the pipeline from 2025 with operations set to begin in 2026.

The pipeline will transport CO2 from plants across Iowa and neighbouring states and bury them underground in North Dakota. However, North Dakota is yet to give permits to Summit for the proposal which it rejected earlier. The company has filed for permits and the request is currently under consideration by North Dakota.

“The momentum will continue as we prepare to file our South Dakota permit application in early July,” said Lee Blank, CEO, Summit Carbon Solutions on the ongoing application. “We look forward to engaging with the state throughout this process and are confident in a successful outcome.”

The pipeline will move up to 12m metric tons of CO2 per annum and will be eligible to avail millions in federal tax credits.

Summit Carbon Solutions has already onboarded 57 ethanol plants across five states and has signed voluntary easement agreements with 75% of Iowa landowners along the route for the pipeline.