Reuters – Carbon capture and storage (CCS) at ethanol plants in the U.S. Midwest is necessary if the industry and its farmers hope to have a role in the burgeoning sustainable aviation fuel market, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Nov. 29.
Three CCS pipelines that would transport and store captured carbon from ethanol plants in an effort to slash emissions have been proposed in the Midwest, but face stiff resistance from landowners who fear their land will be damaged or taken through eminent domain.
One of the pipelines, from Nebraska-based Navigator CO2 Ventures, was canceled in October. The other two, from Colorado-based Wolf Carbon Solutions and Iowa-based Summit Carbon Solutions, have faced significant roadblocks.
Read Also
Canadian Cattle Association names Brocklebank CEO
Andrea Brocklebank will take over as chief executive officer of the Canadian Cattle Association effective March 1.
The ethanol industry is banking on CCS and carbon pipelines to slash their emissions, in part so the fuel can qualify as a feedstock for sustainable aviation fuel, which the industry sees as a critical future market.
To receive lucrative tax credits, producers must demonstrate their fuel reduces emissions 50 per cent over gasoline.
“For folks in the Midwest, if they’re interested in taking advantage of a biofuel renaissance and expansion with sustainable aviation fuel … they are going to have to have some way of dealing with the issue of carbon capture and storage,” Vilsack said.
He also told Reuters reporters on Nov. 29 that a much-anticipated decision from the U.S. Treasury that could make it easier for ethanol-derived aviation fuel to qualify for subsidies would come by the end of the year.
Vilsack said he has not had any conversation with the White House about the carbon pipelines, in part because his son, Jess Vilsack, is general counsel for Summit Carbon Solutions.
“I’ve been trying to not complicate his life and make it more difficult,” Vilsack said.
