POET Partners with Summit on Carbon Capture at 5 SD Ethanol Plants

POET, headquartered in Sioux Falls and the country's top ethanol producer with over 1.5 billion gallons annually from 26 facilities, revealed plans to implement carbon capture at 17 plants, including five in South Dakota and 12 in Iowa. The deal with Summit Carbon Solutions, the last firm pursuing a CO2 pipeline in the state after Navigator CO2 Ventures withdrew its proposal, comes as ethanol plants seek to reduce emissions under the Inflation Reduction Act's 45Q tax credits. POET's South Dakota sites, such as those in Scotland and Groton, process local corn into biofuels central to the state's $4 billion ag economy.

The partnership shifts POET's strategy toward sustainable production, capturing CO2 from fermentation for transport via Summit's proposed Midwest Carbon Express pipeline. Summit's project, spanning 2,000 miles across South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska and Iowa, targets 18 million metric tons of CO2 yearly from 57 ethanol plants. In South Dakota, where ethanol supports 6,500 jobs and 15 biorefineries, the initiative promises economic boosts including $100 million in local investments and enhanced crop markets for farmers in the James River Valley and beyond.

POET's history in South Dakota underscores its commitment, from the pilot-scale Project BELL cellulosic ethanol plant in Scotland to ongoing expansions like four new fermentation tanks boosting capacity to 150 million gallons at an undisclosed site. CEO Jeff Broin hailed the collaboration as 'transformational' for decarbonizing biofuels. As construction on Summit's pipeline advances post-regulatory hurdles, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem's administration views it as key to ag innovation, though landowner concerns over eminent domain persist in rural counties like Hughes near Pierre.