Wolf Carbon Solutions seeks end to carbon pipeline application in Illinois - Reuters

Wolf Carbon Solutions seeks end to carbon pipeline application in Illinois | Reuters

Wolf Carbon Solutions seeks end to carbon pipeline application in Illinois

Nov 21 (Reuters) - Wolf Carbon Solutions has moved to withdraw its permit application in Illinois to build a carbon capture pipeline that would transport as much as 12 million tons of carbon dioxide annually to a storage site in the state, according to a company filing in the state regulatory commission docket.

Wolf is the latest carbon capture pipeline to face setbacks after Nebraska-based Navigator CO2 Ventures canceled its Heartland Greenway pipeline project in October and Iowa-based Summit Carbon Solutions had its pipeline permit applications denied in North Dakota in August and South Dakota in September.

Denver-based Wolf's pipeline is meant to capture carbon dioxide from two ethanol plants owned by Archer-Daniels-Midland (ADM.N)(ADM) in Iowa and transport the carbon to a sequestration site managed by ADM in Decatur, Illinois.

Staff of the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC), which would grant the pipeline permit, recommended in October that regulators deny Wolf's permit application because the company does not have a final agreement in place with ADM.

"We have made the decision to withdraw our current application, with the intent to refile in early 2024, to address the questions and concerns raised by ICC staff in their recommendation," Dean Ferguson, president of Wolf Carbon Solutions U.S., said in a statement.

The company remains committed to the project, Ferguson said.

ADM spokesperson Jackie Anderson said conversations with Wolf are ongoing and that the company is committed to the use of carbon capture and storage (CCS) at its Decatur facility.

The regulatory filing was made on Monday.

Carbon capture pipelines have faced resistance from landowners along proposed routes who are concerned about eminent domain, stored carbon leaking into groundwater or damage to farmland from pipeline construction.

Tracy Fox, secretary-treasurer of an Illinois group called Citizens Against Predatory Pipelines that has opposed the Wolf project, said the organization would fight any future permit application from the company.

"We're glad to have a little breather, but we're going to have a lot of work to do," Fox said.

The ethanol industry is banking on carbon capture and storage to slash the fuel's emissions footprint amid growing competition from electric vehicles, and in hopes that it can serve as a feedstock for sustainable aviation fuel.

Reporting by Leah Douglas in Washington; Editing by Will Dunham

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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