Green Plains Announces 100% of Rights of Way Acquired on ‘Advantage Nebraska’ Carbon Capture Project with Lateral Construction Underway

January 17, 2025

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(Green Plains) Green Plains Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE) today announced that key milestones for the ‘Advantage Nebraska’ carbon strategy have been met and the project remains on track for operation in the second half of 2025. These facilities are expected to be among the first significant volumes of low carbon ethanol from carbon capture and sequestration in the U.S. and positions the company to participate in the early days of the 45Z Clean Fuel Production Credit, the details of which were recently revealed.

“We are very pleased with the progress that Tallgrass has made on the Trailblazer CCS project,” said Todd Becker, president and chief executive officer at Green Plains. “Tallgrass has secured all the rights of way for the laterals to connect our Nebraska plants, and all Class VI sequestration well permits have been issued, allowing us to stay firmly on schedule. Construction of the compression infrastructure is planned to begin in February, with the delivery of the compression equipment anticipated for the second quarter. With Tallgrass commencing construction of the laterals in 2024, we remain on schedule to permanently sequester 800,000 tons of biogenic carbon dioxide each year from our Central City, Wood River and York, Nebraska locations beginning in the second half of the year. The compression equipment is designed to scale to accommodate the potential for increased production and post-combustion carbon capture, with overall carbon capture capacity up to 1.2 million tons per year.”

The recently released 45Z GREET model allows U.S. corn ethanol to reduce its CI score by approximately 32 points with carbon capture and sequestration. Additionally based on preliminary analysis of the model:

Indirect Land Use Change (ILUC) penalties for corn were further reduced, resulting in a lower starting CI for U.S. corn ethanol relative to prior GREET models
A transportation penalty is assessed on imported Used Cooking Oil (UCO) relative to domestic UCO, and imported UCO is prohibited from claiming the 45Z credit if used to make on-road fuels such as biodiesel or renewable diesel
Using Renewable Corn Oil (DCO) as a feedstock to produce renewable diesel would result in an approximately 25 point CI advantage for the finished fuel relative to using soybean oil as the feedstock

“Our carbon capture strategy continues to gain momentum, and we are now even closer to being operational across our 287 million gallon Nebraska footprint,” added Todd Becker. “We also believe the value of this is not reflected in our current share price as this project has the ability to create significant earnings and value creation opportunities for our shareholders by producing some of the lowest carbon intensity fuel in the world. With the recently released guidance on 45Z, we are more confident than ever that our ‘Advantage Nebraska’ strategy is the right course of action, and believe we are uniquely situated to benefit from our ability to sequester the biogenic carbon dioxide and reduce the CI of our ethanol by more than half.”

“Based on the most recent GREET model, our Central City facility, for example, has a base CI score of 51, and with carbon capture in place it would be at 19 as a new starting point. In addition, our low-CI corn oil should now be further advantaged relative to other feedstocks. We have positioned ourselves to participate not only in this upside from the Federal tax credits, but also state low carbon fuel markets or private carbon credit markets, as well as being a leading supplier of low carbon feedstocks for use in alcohol to jet SAF as that market develops in the future,” concluded Becker.

About Green Plains Inc.

Green Plains Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE) is a leading biorefining company focused on the development and utilization of fermentation, agricultural and biological technologies in the processing of annually renewable crops into sustainable value-added ingredients. This includes the production of cleaner low carbon biofuels and renewable feedstocks for advanced biofuels. Green Plains is an innovative producer of Sequence™ and novel ingredients for animal and aquaculture diets to help satisfy a growing global appetite for sustainable protein. For more information, visit www.gpreinc.com. READ MORE

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POET and Tallgrass Announce Collaboration on Carbon Capture Project (POET/Tallgrass/Globe Newswire)

Excerpt from POET/Tallgrass/Globe Newswire: POET, the world’s largest producer of biofuels, and Tallgrass, a leading infrastructure company, announced they have entered into definitive agreements to connect POET’s Fairmont, Nebraska bioprocessing facility to the Tallgrass Trailblazer carbon dioxide (CO2) pipeline. Under the arrangement, the POET facility will capture bioCO2 for transportation and permanent underground sequestration in Wyoming.

Tallgrass is in the process of converting a natural gas pipeline that has safely operated for over a decade to transport CO2 to its sequestration site in Wyoming, minimizing the need for additional pipeline infrastructure. The Trailblazer project is under construction and expected to commence commercial operations in 2025, which will enable near-term connectivity of POET Bioprocessing – Fairmont.

Capturing and sequestering bioCO2 from the bioethanol production process lowers the carbon intensity of the final product, which will open new market opportunities that create value for Nebraska corn growers and bioethanol producers.

By delivering bioCO2 for transportation and sequestration, POET will not only benefit the farmers who supply their facility; under the Trailblazer Community Benefits Agreement, POET’s commitment will also support additional direct funding to the landowners who have agreed to site the pipeline on their property and the communities that are hosting the infrastructure.

“POET is excited to join the Tallgrass Trailblazer project,” said Jeff Broin, POET Founder and CEO. “Carbon capture is a tremendous opportunity to create significant value for farmers and bioethanol producers while strengthening rural communities and counties in Nebraska and across the Midwest. We believe this initiative — and similar carbon capture projects — will play an important role in unleashing even more opportunities for agriculture in the future.”

“We are excited to be collaborating with POET in Nebraska and are proud that our work with them will broadly benefit the Nebraskan communities associated with the project and continue to add value across the state’s bioeconomy,” said Alison Nelson, Segment President of CO2 Business Development and Origination at Tallgrass.

About POET

POET’s vision is to create a world in sync with nature. As the world’s largest producer of biofuel and a global leader in sustainable bioproducts, POET creates plant-based alternatives to fossil fuels that unleash the regenerative power of agriculture and cultivate opportunities for America’s farm families. Founded in 1987 and headquartered in Sioux Falls, POET operates 34 bioprocessing facilities across eight states and employs more than 2,400 team members. With a suite of bioproducts that includes high-quality animal feed, corn oil, green asphalt rejuvenator, purified alcohol, and bioCO2, POET nurtures an unceasing commitment to innovation and advances powerful, practical solutions to some of the world’s most pressing challenges. Today, POET holds more than 140 patents worldwide and continues to break new ground in biotechnology, yielding lower-carbon, more efficient renewable energy and bioproducts. Learn more at poet.com.

About Tallgrass

Tallgrass is a leading infrastructure company focused on safely, reliably, and sustainably delivering the energy and services that fuel our nation and power our quality of life. With large-scale, multicommodity infrastructure across 14 states, including more than 10,000 miles of pipelines, Tallgrass is an established, industry-leading operator. Learn more at tallgrass.com. READ MORE

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used cooking oil (UCO) Treasury Department Transportation Fuels Policy Trade Policy tax policy tax credits Sustainability Renewable Diesel/Green Diesel/HVO/Paraffinic Diesel Regulations-Federal pipelines permitting Nebraska Minnesota markets/sales market forces LCFS (Low Carbon Fuel Standard) Investing import/export ILUC (Indirect/Induced Land Use Change) GREET Greenhouse Gases Regulated Emissions and Energy Use in Transportation Model fermentation environmental policy corn/maize corn oil/distillers corn oil (DCO) co-products carbon/CO2 sequestration carbon pipeline Carbon Intensity (CI)/Carbon Footprint Carbon Dioxide (CO2) carbon credit markets carbon capture and storage (CCS) BioRefineries/Renewable Fuel Production BioChemicals/Renewable Chemicals alcohol-to-jet (ATJ)/ethanol-to-jet (ETJ) 45Z Clean Fuel Production Tax Credit

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