The Minnesota Department of Commerce has issued an environmental impact statement for a portion of the Summit Carbon Solutions CO2 pipeline.
The Otter Tail to Wilkin Carbon Dioxide Pipeline Project involves the construction of a carbon dioxide capture facility and a 28.1-mile-long pipeline with a diameter of 4 inches, made of carbon steel. The primary purpose of this pipeline is to transport captured CO2 from the Green Plains Ethanol Plant, located near Fergus Falls in Otter Tail County, Minnesota, to the Minnesota-North Dakota border near Breckenridge in Wilkin County, Minnesota.
The capture facility will be constructed at the ethanol plant and is expected to consume approximately 13 million gallons of water per year sourced from an existing well. Electricity usage is estimated to be about 38.5 million kilowatt hours annually.
The pipeline is designed to transport approximately 0.19 million metric tons per annum (MMTPA) of CO2. The ultimate destination for the CO2 is a permanent underground sequestration facility in North Dakota.
- Pipeline Construction: August 2025 – October 2025
- Capture Facility Construction: August 2025 – March 2026
- The construction schedule is contingent upon receiving the necessary permits and authorization.
Before construction can begin, the project must obtain a routing permit from the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (Commission). Additionally, various federal, state, and local permits will be required for construction and operation activities.
The agency also concluded that the project offers a net benefit by capturing and sequestering biogenic CO2, outweighing the emissions from construction and operation.
