O’Brien County, Iowa — A company that wants to run a CO2 pipeline under O’Brien County says the majority of landowners in the county have given them permision to put in their pipeline.
Summit Carbon Solutions officials tell us the company has secured easement agreements accounting for more than 72% of its proposed pipeline route in O’Brien County.
Summit Carbon Solutions CEO Lee Blank says that the company was formed to open new economic opportunities for ethanol producers and to strengthen the ag economy “that is so critical to families and communities across the Midwest.” He says that securing thousands of easement agreements project-wide, including 72% of the proposed route in O’Brien County, demonstrates “the significant momentum behind our project and the growing recognition that carbon capture, transportation and storage projects will create jobs, improve environmental outcomes, and generate new sources of revenue for local communities.”
Summit Carbon Solutions tells us they are partnering with dozens of ethanol plants across the Midwest to develop what they call “the largest carbon capture and storage project in the world.”
A statement released on Thursday says, “Through a multi-billion-dollar private investment, these partners will be able to sell their product in the growing number of markets that incentivize low carbon fuels. California, the largest ethanol-consuming state, and Canada, the largest U.S. ethanol importer, have both adopted policies that incentivize the use of low-carbon fuels. Access to these markets is critical to the long-term viability of the ethanol industry that today purchases approximately 57% of all corn grown in Iowa and that remains a key driver of commodity prices and land values.”
They also claim that in O’Brien County, the company will invest $30.7 million during construction, which they tout as “dollars that will flow back to hotels, restaurants, hardware stores and other local businesses to generate economic growth.” After construction, according to a study by global accounting leader Ernst & Young, Summit Carbon Solutions will pay an average of $1.18 million in new property taxes annually in O’Brien County. They tell us that property taxes help the community support critical local priorities such as schools, road construction, public safety, and more.
