Wolf Carbon withdraws carbon dioxide pipeline permit request

Wolf Carbon Solutions on Monday withdrew its petition with Iowa regulators for a carbon dioxide pipeline that would have stretched from Cedar Rapids to the state's eastern border.

The company had proposed about 95 miles of pipe in four counties to transport captured carbon dioxide from two ethanol producers in Cedar Rapids and Clinton to Illinois, where it would be permanently stored underground.

  Buy Photo

Wolf withdrew its permit request in that state more than a year ago after an engineer for the Illinois Commerce Commission questioned whether the project qualified for approval, and state lawmakers later adopted a moratorium on new CO2 pipelines there.

In Wolf's withdrawal letter to Iowa’s Public Utilities Commission, the company said a "number of factors" have delayed its project, but it did not specify what they are. An attorney for Wolf did not respond Monday to a request to comment for this article.

"Wolf will make a determination concerning any required new filing with the commission once more certainty exists concerning its plans to proceed with the project," the letter said.

The system was proposed to connect to two Archer Daniels Midland ethanol plants. ADM also did not respond to a request to comment.

The second withdrawal

Wolf is the second company to abandon a permit request for a carbon dioxide pipeline system that includes Iowa.

Navigator CO2 also sought to transport carbon dioxide from ethanol plants to Illinois for underground storage or other commercial purposes, but its project was much larger. It was proposed to span more than 1,300 miles in four states.

Navigator said last year that the "unpredictable nature of the regulatory and government processes" led it to halt its project.

"Against all odds, we’ve stopped the Navigator and Wolf carbon pipelines," said Jess Mazour of the Sierra Club of Iowa, which has organized opposition to the projects and has challenged them throughout their regulatory processes and in court.

Opponents argue the pipelines are unsafe, should not be eligible for eminent domain authority and are meant to enrich wealthy investors with the help of federal tax credits. Proponents say the pipelines would reduce greenhouse gas emissions and sustain the ethanol industry as drivers shift to low-carbon fuels and electric vehicles.

A third company, Summit Carbon Solutions, has obtained route permits in Iowa and North Dakota, where it plans to transport carbon dioxide from more than 50 ethanol plants for underground storage in North Dakota.

Summit increased the size of its proposed five-state pipeline system this year by adding ethanol plants that previously had agreed to be part of Navigator's project. The plan now includes about 2,500 miles of pipe. None of it is in Illinois.

Summit recently reapplied for a permit in South Dakota, which it needs to start construction in Iowa. The South Dakota Public Utilities Commission rejected Summit's first route.

Its new permit request includes a modified route that the company says will reduce its effect on future development near Sioux Falls. Summit is asking the South Dakota commission to overrule county ordinances that restrict pipeline placement.

No eminent domain

Wolf began its permit process in Iowa in June 2022 and pledged not to use eminent domain to force landowners to host its project.

The company noted in its Monday letter that it "has continued to build relationships with landowners and stakeholders," but it did not specify how many voluntary land easements it has obtained.

Landowners in the path of a pipeline can sign agreements to allow a company to construct and operate on land it doesn’t own. If landowners refuse, a company that’s been granted eminent domain authority by regulators can seek eminent domain in exchange for compensation.

The Iowa Utilities Commission approved the use of eminent domain for about a quarter of Summit's initial route. That approval is the subject of court challenges that might conclude next year.

"Don't risk Iowans' land or Iowans' health over profits for a few companies," Brian Bowman, of Cedar Falls, wrote recently to the commission in an objection to the projects. "I firmly object to CO2 pipelines and eminent domain to accomplish" them.

Comments: (319) 368-8541; jared.strong@thegazette.com