An official with Summit Carbon Solutions says landowners so far have agreed to let its carbon pipeline run through nearly 40 percent of its proposed path through Iowa. Jesse Harris is director of public affairs for the company.
The pipeline route would stretch nearly 670 miles across Iowa on its way to North Dakota, where the captured carbon from Midwest ethanol plants would be stored underground. In mid-April, Summit officials said they’d secured about 20 percent of the route through Iowa.
Summit hosted an invitation-only open house at a northwest Iowa ethanol plant this week. Chris Boshart is the General Manager for Corn L-P in Goldfield, which would be linked to the pipeline.
Jim Pirolli, Summit’s Chief Commercial Officer, emphasized the scope of the overall project.
Three companies have now proposed carbon capture pipelines through Iowa. The ethanol plant in Goldfield signed onto Summit’s plan in February of 2021. Pirolli says it’s important to de-carbonize the ethanol industry, which is the market for 40 percent of U.S. corn.
Pipeline opponents say private property rights will be sacrificed for corporate profits if developers are allowed to seize land from unwilling property owners through eminent domain. Earlier this year, the Iowa House passed a moratorium that would have prohibited companies like Summit from applying for eminent domain until at least February of 2023. The bill did not pass the Iowa Senate, however. Iowa Utilities Board officials told key senators they will not begin the formal process of considering applications for eminent domain until next spring.
