Proposed Carbon Capture Pipeline Offers Midwest Economic Promise, Reduced Carbon Emissions

This past week, the Bismarck Tribune reported on the Midwest Carbon Express pipeline that would capture and transport as much as 12 million metric tons of carbon dioxide per year. Pipeline developer Summit Carbon Solutions reports that this would equate to removing the annual carbon emissions of 2.6 million cars.

The pipeline aiming to gather carbon dioxide produced by 31 ethanol plants across the Midwest is slated to inject the gas underground in Oliver and Mercer counties. This makes the ethanol from these Midwestern producers more feasible to sell to markets along the West Coast that have enacted policies that promote low-carbon fuels as a means of addressing climate change.

With its sheer size and perceived direct and indirect benefit the Midwest Carbon Express will bring, North Dakota officials and landowners are welcoming the project. “What I hear consistently from landowners is strong support for the project,” [Wade Boeshans, Executive Vice President of Summit Carbon Solutions] said. “They understand the value of it.”

Just as the Dakota Access Pipeline has served as an economic stimulant for the state since its inception, the Midwest Carbon Express is expected to create as many as 17,000 construction jobs and support up to 500 permanent jobs, according to Summit. The company is aiming to start construction in the second quarter of 2023 and begin operations in the second quarter of 2024.

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