News

IRFA stresses need for carbon pipeline projects

The head of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association says carbon pipelines will be critical to the future of ethanol production.

Monte Shaw tells Brownfield many markets are asking for “super” low-carbon ethanol. “The single most easy, most cost-effective way to lower the carbon of biofuels, ethanol specifically in this case, is CO2 capture and sequestration. It’s easy, it’s proven, it’s affordable, it can be done safely.”

He says a 2023 study commissioned by IRFA found that a ban on carbon pipelines would result in 44% of Iowa corn leaving the state without added value by the end of the decade. “Over the next 20 years, the United States will produce 5 billion more bushels of corn if we plant the same acres.”

Shaw says Iowa’s ethanol production will become noncompetitive without investments in carbon sequestration projects. “People view this through a political lens. This isn’t politics to us, it’s business. If we can open these new markets, it’s going to be a huge new demand over the next 5-to-10-to-20 years for American commodities like corn and soybeans and things like that.”

He says projects like the Summit Carbon Solutions Pipeline could help lower the carbon score of biofuels and make them qualify for Sustainable Aviation Fuel.