Summit Cuts 200 Miles from Its Proposed Pipeline Route

May 14, 2026

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by O. Kay Henderson (Radio Iowa) Summit Carbon Solutions plans to shrink the scope of its pipeline project in Iowa by about 200 miles. The company has submitted a revised route plan to the Iowa Utilities Commission.

Summit no longer plans to connect its pipeline to ethanol plants in St. Ansgar, Corning, Hanlontown or Shenandoah. That means the pipeline route will no longer stretch through Adams, Fremont, Mitchell, Montgomery, Page, Pottawattamie, Shelby and Worth Counties. Pipeline miles will be reduced in the following four counties — Crawford, Dickinson, Floyd and Sioux. These changes affect about 400 landowners.

Summit still plans to connect to 27 Iowa ethanol plants, but after regulatory set backs in the Dakotas, the company aims to connect with a carbon pipeline in Nebraska that’s already operating. Summit’s CEO says there’s “urgency” in getting the project started due to economic pressure in the ag sector. Pipeline backers like the Iowa Corn Growers Association and the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association say the project is essential to the future of Iowa’s ethanol industry and, if it isn’t built, Nebraska will become the main place to make ethanol because it has an operating carbon pipeline.

An attorney for the Sierra Club’s Iowa chapter says the project has been on “shaky ground” for a while and this latest move “suggests it’s falling apart.” For five years, a group of landowners along the pipeline route have been lobbying Iowa legislators to pass a bill that would forbid Summit from using eminent domain authority to seize their property. Members of the group say they’re celebrating today.

Here are the 27 Iowa ethanol plants that remain part of the project:

Plymouth Energy LLC
Valero Renewable Fuels Company – Fort Dodge
Siouxland Energy Cooperative
Poet Biorefining – Gowrie
Poet Biorefining – Ashton
Louis Dreyfus – Grand Junction
Little Sioux Corn Processors
Poet Biorefining – Coon Rapids
Quad County Corn Processors
POET Biorefining – Menlo
Poet Biorefining – Arthur
Lincolnway Energy LLC
Andersons Denison Ethanol
Poet Biorefining – Jewell
Green Plains Inc Superior
Poet Biorefining – Iowa Falls
Valero Renewable Fuels Company – Hartley
Pine Lake Corn Processors
Valero Renewable Fuels Company – Albert City
Golden Grain Energy LLC
Poet Biorefining – Emmetsburg
Valero Renewable Fuels Company – Charles City
Valero Renewable Fuels Company – Lakota
Poet Biorefining – Shell Rock
Corn LP
Homeland Energy Solutions
Poet Biorefining – Fairbank

READ MORE

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Summit Carbon Solutions Streamlines Iowa Project to Accelerate Progress for Farmers and Rural Communities (Summit Carbon Solutions)
Summit pipeline opponents, supporters seek action from utilities commission (Iowa Capital Dispatch/KCCI; includes VIDEO)
CO2 Pipeline Changes Spark Iowa Fight -- Summit Drops Iowa Counties From CO2 Pipeline Route; Landowners Continue Fight (DTN Progressive Farmer)
IRFA urges Iowa Utilities Commission to take timely action on Summit Carbon Solutions permit (Iowa Renewable Fuels Association/Ethanol Producer Magazine)

Excerpt from Summit Carbon Solutions: Summit Carbon Solutions announced today that it is refining portions of its proposed Iowa project footprint to focus on the strongest and most efficient path forward, helping accelerate progress toward construction and delivery of long-term economic opportunities for agriculture and rural communities.

The filing submitted to the Iowa Utilities Commission removes certain pipeline route segments, simplifying the overall project while maintaining the core infrastructure needed to move forward efficiently and responsibly.

The updated route reduces overall project complexity, with fewer impacted miles and fewer impacted landowners, allowing for a more focused and streamlined regulatory process. Summit will remove the proposed routes in Shelby, Pottawattamie, Montgomery, Adams, Page, Fremont, Mitchell, and Worth counties, while also reducing pipeline mileage in Crawford, Floyd, Sioux, and Dickinson counties. In total, the refinements will remove more than 400 landowners from the project footprint and reduce the overall scope of the project by approximately 200 miles.

The project will continue to work with a strong core group of ethanol facilities, including 27* in Iowa. At this time, the company will not pursue routes to Absolute Energy, POET Corning, POET Hanlontown, or Green Plains Shanandoah.

“We believe this is the right step for the project and the right step for the communities counting on new opportunities,” said Joe Griffin. “Agriculture is facing real economic pressure right now. Farmers and ethanol producers need access to new markets and long-term growth opportunities, and there is urgency to getting infrastructure like this moving forward.”

Griffin said the company’s focus is on building the portions of the system that are economically positioned to move ahead now, while continuing to evaluate future expansion opportunities over time, including opportunities to connect additional ethanol facilities in future phases as market demand and project development continue to evolve.

“This allows us to focus on the core infrastructure that makes the most sense today and move through the process faster and more efficiently,” Griffin said. “We are building this project for the long haul because strong infrastructure is critical to the future of agriculture, rural communities, and America’s energy future. Even with these refinements, this remains the largest single private infrastructure investment in Iowa history.”

The project will travel west through Nebraska to advance a dedicated sequestration solution in Wyoming as the core of the system, while continuing to evaluate complementary CO2 utilization opportunities, including enhanced oil recovery where appropriate. The streamlined project remains a major investment in rural communities and the future of American agriculture, helping position ethanol producers to compete for emerging market opportunities, including sustainable aviation fuel, while supporting domestic energy production and expanded fuel innovation.

“We continue to see strong support from the majority of landowners and stakeholders across our project footprint,” Griffin said. “These people understand that standing still is not an option in this economy. This project is about creating durable economic prosperity, strengthening rural communities, supporting America’s energy independence and national security interests, and helping ensure agriculture remains competitive for all future generations.” READ MORE

Excerpt from Iowa Capital Dispatch/KCCI: Iowa property owners asked the Iowa Utilities Commission Wednesday (May 20, 2026) to deny Summit Carbon Solution’s recent filing seeking to modify its pipeline project, while ag group members and some others called for approval of the plan.

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Colleen Tucker, a Mitchell County landowner and resident, said she feels “cautious optimism” about the proposed changes, but emphasized that there are still many Iowa landowners still impacted by the pipeline. She and others asked the IUC during the public comment period of its monthly meeting to deny Summit’s proposal.

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Jann Reinig, a Shelby County landowner, said despite her county being exempt from the new proposal, uncertainty about other parts of Iowa and the potential for Summit’s return after their initial project is completed leaves little room for celebration.

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Darlene Partlow, a Guthrie County landowner, said she has attended Iowa legislative sessions for the past two years and believes that Summit has a hidden agenda behind its new proposal.

“I’ve come to the conclusion that our state government, starting with the governor, Senate leadership and some senators, are bought and paid for,” Partlow said. “Why else will we be fighting this battle when our state constitution specifically states eminent domain can only be used strictly for public use.”

While most public comments asked the IUC to deny Summit’s proposal, some asked the commission to expedite the request.

Steve Kuiper, the vice president of the Iowa Corn Growers Association, encouraged the IUC to expedite and approve Summit’s proposal, adding that the pipeline would be “tremendous help” to Iowa farmers.

“Currently, the Iowa farming economy has some serious financial difficulties ahead,” Kuiper said. “Other states are competing against us for this … low-carbon fuel initiative. If we don’t do low-carbon ethanol, we will start to lose ethanol business in the state of Iowa. It’ll detrimentally affect the price of Iowa’s corn.”

Under Summit’s new plan, the pipeline will continue to operate through Nebraska and parts of Iowa, and captured emissions will be stored in Wyoming, deviating from its original sequestration plan to store emissions in North Dakota.

Kuiper added that he has friends in Nebraska who have “picked up that price, and it has helped their bottom line tremendously. I respectfully ask that you folks take up this debate this summer, so construction can begin as soon as possible. We would like to see the construction phase start this winter and get this pipe in the ground.”

The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) filed a formal request to IUC on Tuesday to schedule a hearing for the approval of Summit’s proposal, saying that IUC’s permit request was submitted six months ago.

Colin Gorton, IFRA’s policy director, said in a news release the repeated delays hurt Iowa’s rural economy, and asked the commission to take swift action.

“After six months, the IFRA can see no reason to delay holding a scheduling conference for this important issue,” Gorton said. “The 27 ethanol plants that are part of the Summit project stand to generate nearly $2 billion annually in additional revenue from carbon capture, use and sequestration. To underscore the urgency of the situation, that is nearly $5.25 million of forgone revenue for Iowa’s ethanol plants each and every day. At a moment when farmers are struggling and rural economies are hurting, this is incredibly critical.”

The commission has not set a timeline for its next order in the Summit Carbon Solutions docket, an IUC spokesperson said Wednesday in an email response to Iowa Capital Dispatch. READ MORE

Excerpt from DTN Progressive Farmer: The entire face of the pipeline project changed after state lawmakers in South Dakota passed a ban on the use of eminent domain for carbon capture projects in March 2025. Then in April 2025, the South Dakota Public Utility Commission denied Summit's route permit application.

South Dakota was considered a key part of the 2,500-mile pipeline because carbon was to be transported across the state and then stored in North Dakota.

During years' long debate on the pipeline, opposition to the project repeatedly made the case the project does not qualify as a public utility and should be unable to use eminent domain. Under the leadership of a new CEO Joe Griffin, the company announced in September 2025 that it would use eminent domain only as a "last resort."

ANNOUNCED CHANGES

In addition, in last week's announcement Summit said it would explore other uses for the pipeline including enhanced oil recovery.

Griffin said in the company's announcement that the focus is on building the portions of the system that are "economically positioned to move ahead now," while continuing to evaluate "future expansion opportunities" to include connecting the pipeline to additional ethanol plants.

"We continue to see strong support from the majority of landowners and stakeholders across our project footprint," Griffin said in a statement.

"These people understand that standing still is not an option in this economy. This project is about creating durable economic prosperity, strengthening rural communities, supporting America's energy independence and national security interests and helping ensure agriculture remains competitive for all future generations."

ONGOING LAND FIGHT

Jann Reinig, a corn grower and ethanol plant stockholder in Shelby County, Iowa, said during the Iowa Utilities Commission meeting this week that although she is a corn grower who wants higher commodity prices, she's unwilling to accept a trade-off of losing property to eminent domain.

Reinig said although Shelby County was removed from the pipeline route that the fight wasn't over for other landowners.

"My county, Shelby County, is one of the eight counties now exempt from the CO2 pipeline route," she said.

"Wow, that sounds like a celebration. I had two men congratulate me at the grocery store yesterday that we had done such a great job and that we were out of the project. Well, I wish it was that way, and I had to tell him that it's not over yet. We landowners have little right to celebrate."

Reinig said she believes because Summit is proposing many changes to the project that the company should have to reapply for a permit.

"We should have a hearing to restart the entire CO2 Iowa project," she said.

"It's completely different. What is presented now is a totally different project than what we had. We need a hearing to discuss a new project with all of its changes from the 2021 original project."

CORN GROWERS PRESS FOR HEARING

Steve Kuiper, first vice president of the Iowa Corn Growers Association, told the commission to move forward in considering the Summit permit and allowing construction to begin in 2026 because Iowa farmers are struggling.

Building a carbon pipeline and connecting to Iowa ethanol plants, he said, will help bolster the price of Iowa corn by 20 cents to 30 cents.

"Currently the state of the Iowa farming economy has got some serious financial difficulties ahead," Kuiper said.

"Myself, I've got two sons that farm with me and I've got grandkids that are going to join our farming operation probably at some point in time. And you hear this same thing throughout Iowa's farm economy -- that we're on the precipice of possibly a current farm recession." READ MORE

Excerpt from Iowa Renewable Fuels Association/Ethanol Producer Magazine: The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association on May 19 filed a formal request with the Iowa Utilities Commission asking that a hearing schedule be established for Summit Carbon Solutions’ carbon capture, use, and sequestration (CCUS) pipeline project. The permit request was submitted to IUC six months ago.

“For twenty-five years, Iowa has benefited greatly from being the most profitable place in the world to convert corn into ethanol,” the filing states. “That is no longer the case because a carbon capture project in Nebraska began operations last fall. There is not a question on the economic benefits: carbon capture and sequestration is happening, and it is happening right here in the Midwest. The only question is whether Iowa will be left behind for months or forever.”

Speaking this morning at the IUC monthly meeting, IRFA Policy Director Colin Gorton repeated the request, urging the Commission to act swiftly as further delays are harmful to Iowa’s rural economy.

“After six months, IRFA can see no reason to delay holding a scheduling conference for this important issue,” Gorton said. “The 27 ethanol plants that are part of the Summit project stand to generate nearly $2 billion annually in additional revenue from CCUS. To underscore the urgency of the situation, that is nearly $5.25 million of forgone revenue for Iowa’s ethanol plants each and every day. At a moment when farmers are struggling and rural economies are hurting, this is incredibly critical.”

Many competing states have CCUS projects that are in operation or are moving forward, including Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, Illinois, and Indiana. The main international competitor to U.S. ethanol, Brazil, is also embracing CCUS. Ultra-low carbon ethanol is demanded in emerging markets like ocean-going marine vessels and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). READ MORE