(Radio Iowa) – Former Iowa Governor Terry Branstad says the proposed pipeline projects that would capture the carbon dioxide emissions from Iowa and other Midwest ethanol plants will help Iowa agriculture and biotechnology level up. Branstad is the senior policy adviser for Iowa-based Summit Carbon Solutions, which is proposing one of the pipelines. He called Summit’s project “critically important.”

“And if we don’t do it, I think, and you’ve probably see the research that’s been done by the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association that said we would dramatically lose out on the amount of ethanol from the state of Iowa. That would mean loss of jobs and dramatic reduction in the value of our corn crop, in our land value,” Branstad says.

Branstad made his remarks during the Iowa Biotech Showcase and Conference in Ankeny Wednesday. The ethanol industry supports the proposed carbon pipelines because they say carbon capture will make them eligible for tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act.

A coalition of environmentalists, farmers and landowners oppose the projects because of concerns about their safety and their property rights.

(By Katie Peikes, Iowa Public Radio)