Wolf Carbon Solutions has withdrawn its application for a carbon pipeline permit in Illinois after learning regulators in that state were likely to reject it, but the company plans to regroup and refile its application early next year for a pipeline that would connect to ethanol plants in eastern Iowa.
The proposed carbon pipeline to be operated by Wolf Carbon Solutions would stretch for about about 90 miles in Iowa, to ship carbon from ethanol plants in Cedar Rapids and Clinton to underground storage near Decatur, Illinois. Staff at the Illinois Commerce Commission had recommended the company’s permit be denied because there’s no final agreement between Wolf and A-D-M, which owns the two ethanol plants.
The CEO of Wolf Carbon Solutions says the company remains committed to the pipeline project. Wolf announced plans for a carbon pipeline in 2022. Early this year the company indicated it would seek voluntary access to land along its 90 mile pipeline route through Iowa and would not ask Iowa utility regulators for eminent domain authority to seize property from unwilling landowners.
In October, Navigator CO2 Ventures cited regulatory hurdles and canceled its Heartland Greenway pipeline project. Iowa-based Summit Carbon Solutions is planning a carbon pipeline to connect with ethanol plants in five states, but regulators in both North and South Dakota have rejected the company’s initial permit applications. The Iowa Utilities Board hearing on Summit’s route through Iowa wrapped up early this month, but there’s no indication when the board might make its decision.