Statewide Iowa — Governor Kim Reynolds says carbon pipelines are private sector projects and she does NOT support direct state investment in any of the pipelines that are proposed.
During her Condition of the State address last week, Reynolds called for investment in what she described as carbon capture solutions.
During an interview with Radio Iowa, Reynolds indicated she’s talking about state money for Iowa State University research focused on how Iowa farmers could secure carbon credits for planting crops.
For example, ISU researchers already are studying something called “biochar” which is added to soils to help store carbon underground. There are now three proposed pipeline projects to carry liquid carbon through the state, with terminals to pick up stored carbon emissions from Iowa fertilizer and ethanol plants. Reynolds told Radio Iowa it’ll be up to the private sector to make their case with landowners and state regulators.
Critics of the pipelines say the projects to capture carbon emissions from ethanol plants are a waste of money as the country moves toward electric vehicles. Environmentalists says liquid carbon is a hazardous material and poses a danger as it’s shipped through pipelines and stored underground.
