Earlier today, I'd posted about January meetings in South Dakota Public Utilities Commission schedules public input meetings on Summit carbon pipeline application while watching the Minnesota PUC's decision hearing in St. Paul on IP7093/PPL-22-422 Summit Carbon Solutions, LLC In the Matter of the Application of Summit Carbon Solutions, LLC, for a Routing Permit for the Otter Tail to Wilkin Carbon Dioxide Pipeline Project in Otter Tail and Wilkin Counties, Minnesota. Online.
That hearing didn't go the way many of us in South Dakota and rural Minnesota wanted.
From the Minnesota Reformer (not a fan of the editorializing "long-awaited" phrasing in the Reformer headline).
PUC grants long-awaited permit for carbon capture pipeline
by Christopher IngrahamThe Minnesota Public Utilities Commission voted unanimously Thursday to grant a long-awaited permit to Summit Carbon Solutions, allowing the company to build a small portion of a planned 2,500 carbon capture pipeline network across the Midwest.
The Minnesota segment would run 28 miles from an ethanol plant in Fergus Falls to the North Dakota border. It would consist of 4.5-inch diameter pipe sunk 54 inches underground. The company estimates construction could start as early as 2026, although it is still negotiating right-of-way agreements with seven landowners along the route.
The pipeline would transport pressurized carbon dioxide from the ethanol plant to injection wells in North Dakota, which would pump the gas deep underground to be permanently stored in the rock. The goal is to prevent the greenhouse gas from entering the atmosphere and contributing to global warming.
Commissioners raised concerns about the project’s long term viability, given that the company will be almost entirely dependent on federal carbon tax credits that a new Congress could decide to revoke as early as next year.
Summit is a “startup company who has built their model on tax credits that are somewhat tenuous in my mind,” Commissioner John Tuma said. If the federal tax credits dried up, “it would definitely cause a reassessment” of the project’s viability, a company representative said.
However, those concerns weren’t enough to prevent the project from proceeding.
“We thank the Minnesota PUC for their thorough and diligent review of our project,” said Lee Blank, CEO of Summit Carbon Solutions, in a statement. “This decision underscores the importance of balancing economic opportunities for local communities with environmental stewardship.”
In a statement, rural advocacy group CURE, which opposes the pipeline, said “we are disappointed, if not surprised, by the PUC’s decision to give Summit its permit.” The group noted that “many questions remain about this project, how it will roll out, and what the impacts will be.”
Summit was founded in 2021 with an eye toward capitalizing on federal 45Q tax credits, which were greatly expanded under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. Carbon Capture has been a central pillar of President Joe Biden’s energy policy. If the project proceeds at the scale envisioned it could reap more than $18 billion in tax credits over 12 years.
Summit first applied for a Minnesota pipeline permit in 2022. In early 2023 the Public Utilities Commission asked the Department of Commerce to put together an environmental impact statement, which was completed in July 2024.
The Commission ruled today that the 394-page document is an adequate assessment of the project and its risks, and that those risks aren’t sufficient to prevent the permit from being granted.
Environmental and rural advocacy groups oppose the pipeline, noting that the carbon captured could one day be used to extract more oil from the ground, thus negating any decarbonization benefit.
A separate carbon capture project, the Heartland Greenway pipeline, was scrapped late last year due to difficulties navigating state regulatory environments.
This Minnesota Reformer article is republished online under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
Map: A final EIS report offered three alternative route options for a carbon dioxide pipeline traveling from Otter Tail County to Wilkin County in Minnesota. Source. Minnesota Department of Commerce.
Related posts
- South Dakota Public Utilities Commission schedules public input meetings on Summit carbon pipeline application
- Summit ethanol CO2 injection wells up for approval but court appeal already in the works
- Oh the irony: ethanol carbon pipeline company has failed to address crossing concerns, DAPL oil pipeline company says
- Iowa Supreme Court upholds land survey abilities of pipeline companies in Summit case
- U.S. appeals court hears Summit pipeline case against Iowa's Shelby and Story counties
- Never mind the voters: ethanol carbon pipeline company reapplies for South Dakota permit
- Summit ethanol carbon pipeline news digest: Summit sues another Iowa county and more!
- North Dakota Public Service Commission approves Summit carbon pipeline route
- North Dakota couple plans to ‘dig in’ if Summit ethanol carbon pipeline is approved
- Summit ethanol carbon pipeline news digest: CO2 pipeline in MN moves forward; ND Public Service Commission decision coming Friday
- SD pipeline foes secure legislative leadership; MN Summit decision could come Dec. 12
- In unofficial results, ethanol carbon-pipeline law tossed out by South Dakota voters
- CURE: MN Administrative Law Judge’s report on Summit’s CO 2 pipeline expected November 4
- Seven South Dakota ballot measures, $7 million and counting: Reports reveal total spending
- Jeepers: ethanol coop kicks in another $400,000 to support carbon pipeline ballot question
- Ethanol carbon news digest: Summit Carbon pipeline in MN, Iowa & North Dakota media
- Summit Carbon Solutions CEO asks for prayer, while MN PUC wants public comment on FEIS of Otter Tail – Wilkin portion of CO2 Pipeline
- Public can comment on Otter Tail – Wilkin Co section of ethanol carbon pipeline until Sept. 11
- VIDEO: Carbon capture in Minnesota: public lands, fast money, and pipe dreams
- Summit pipeline segment enters final permitting stages in Minnesota; CURE raises objections
- Ethanol is fueling support of South Dakota carbon pipeline ballot measure
- Pipeline Fighters Hub: Summit Carbon Solutions numbers don’t add up in South Dakota
- Referred Law 21 & carbon pipelines: A landowner bill of rights or an undermining of local control
- Summit Carbon Solution's ethanol carbon pipeline takes #2 spot on Heatmap's The Most At-Risk Projects of The Energy Transition
- Ethanol carbon pipeline news: Attorneys differ on meaning of common carrier law in Summit case
- Summit Carbon Solutions pipelines won’t capture all carbon emitted by ethanol plants
- South Dakota Supreme Court ruling complicates Summit Carbon Solution’s push for land
- Referred pipeline law puts Summit Carbon Solution's permit quest in limbo
- Breaking crowded South Dakota ballot news: carbon pipeline law referendum validated
- Sustainable jet fuel company Gevo contributes $167K in defense of carbon pipeline law
- South Dakota Property Rights and Local Control Alliance turns in petitions to SD Secretary of State to force a vote on carbon pipeline policy
- South Dakota District 1 GOP House primary news round-up: carbon pipeline politics major issue
- New Midwest battles brew over CO2 pipelines
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