Former Minnesota Representative pushes Co2 sequestration over concerns for future of ethanol industry

(WDAY Radio) -- A Former Minnesota Congressman is urging for support of a Co2 Pipeline to enhance the future of the Ethanol Industry...

Former District 7 Representative Colin Peterson spoke to the Flag's Whats on your Mind about carbon sequestration. The conversation was placed in the context of Low Carbon Fuel Standards passed by several states and in Renewable Aviation Fuel regulations. Peterson says as it stands, the ethanol industry will struggle without serious conversations about sequestration.

"There are some small ways to do it, but the way to do it is to sequester this carbon off of the ethanol plants," said Peterson, saying the byproducts from Ethanol plants are split between Co2 and steam. "It's easy to separate that out, the issue is getting it out to a place you can sequester it [...] there are people running around who are saying there is a way to do this without sequestering the carbon. I just don't think that is true in any kind of scalable level,"

Former Representative Collin Peterson says the pipeline can allow for Ethanol to expand into new markets. He also cited current corn markets risks from American farmers, saying Brazil has stepped in to fulfill California's need for renewable fuel. He says a pipeline would ease some of those concerns.