Biden Administration Invests in CCS While Iowa Environmental Groups Try to Block Vital Projects

Contact: Emma Koehler
515-252-6249

JOHNSTON, IOWA – This week the US Department of Energy (DOE) announced an additional $27 million in funding to support the transport of carbon dioxide (CO2) captured from industrial facilities to permanent geologic storage locations. The latest funding brings the total to almost $400 million since January 2021.

“With almost 100 projects nationwide, there are many reasons why three carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects are being developed in Iowa,” stated IRFA Executive Director Monte Shaw. “First and foremost, the largest domestic and export markets for ethanol require low-carbon fuels. In addition, many countries – including the United States – are trying to reduce CO2 levels in the atmosphere. These goals cannot be met without CCS.”

Brad Crabtree, DOE Assistant Secretary of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management stated: “The United States will need to capture and permanently store significant quantities of carbon dioxide emissions in the coming decades to reach the Biden Administration’s decarbonization goals. Meeting this challenge requires a substantial scale-up of our transport infrastructure that will not only support our growing carbon management industry but will serve to protect our communities and create good, high-wage jobs across the country.”

The full DOE announcement can be found here.

“Ironically there are so-called environmental groups in Iowa who oppose CCS,” stated Shaw. “They claim to want to address CO2 but oppose one of key tools to do so. They claim to want to promote electric vehicles, but they oppose mining for the necessary battery minerals in the US. They claim to support sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), but they oppose CCS, the key to unlocking the SAF market for farm feedstocks. This is counter to President Biden’s recent call for agriculture to supply 95 percent of SAF feedstocks. It’s hard to take seriously groups who talk so often out of both sides of their mouths. It’s clear they are more interested in destroying Iowa agriculture than in improving the environment.”

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The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association represents the state’s liquid renewable fuels industry and works to foster its growth. Iowa is the nation’s leader in renewable fuels production with 42 ethanol refineries capable of producing 4.5 billion gallons annually – including 34 million gallons of annual cellulosic ethanol production capacity – and 11 biodiesel facilities with the capacity to produce 410 million gallons annually. For more information, visit the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association website at: www.IowaRFA.org.