BlackRock-backed Navigator CO2 Ventures has filed an updated permit application with the Illinois Commerce Commission.
The new proposal reflects an expanded scope of the carbon capture, utilization, and storage project, Heartland Greenway, and includes the addition of 42 miles of proposed pipeline that will connect to additional permanent storage locations in central Illinois.
The Navigator CO2 pipeline has faced pushback from residents and local authorities across its footprint. Proponents previously withdrew an application for eminent domain powers in Illinois after state regulators said the filing was incomplete. The company then announced it would reapply with an expanded route.
The project scope includes 21 carbon dioxide collection points – at midwestern biofuel plants – along with 1,350 miles of new pipeline and four booster stations across Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, and South Dakota.
Project costs, including capture and sequestration facilities, are projected at approximately $3.4bn.
The proposed pipeline is contracted with industrial producers to capture, transport, and store up to 10 million metric tons of CO2 annually. When fully expanded, the system will be able to transport up to 15 MMT of CO2 annually, according to documentation. Construction of the project is expected to commence in 2Q24 pending receipt of regulatory approvals.
Equity funding for the project is primarily sourced from BlackRock’s Global Energy & Power Infrastructure Fund III, which has committed equity of $5.1bn.
Development capital cost is estimated at $245m, which includes detailed engineering, property survey work, and acquisition of real property interests for the pipeline system and the sequestration facilities to be utilized in the construction phase. The development phase of the project is funded through equity commitments from BlackRock, the Navigator management team, and other investors.
The construction phase of the project will be funded by incremental equity sourced from GEPIF III and other investors, along with a project financing facility sourced by a consortium of lenders. The project has commitments from GEPIF III and other investors for incremental equity required for the construction phase.
On or near the commercial operation date of the project, a long-term debt facility will be put in place to refinance the construction loans, according to the application.
