Plain Talk

350: North Dakota has slashed the time it takes to permit a carbon capture project


Listen Later

I suspect that many in the general public, when they hear about carbon capture, think of it as some pie-in-the-sky thing. Something that's being developed. That's in the work. Not really something that is, as yet, a practical part of modern industry.

Except, the State of North Dakota just permitted its first carbon capture project under state primacy. Which is to say, that state officials reviewed and permitted the project, not the feds.

It's the first time that's ever happened in the United States.

That state control made all the difference.

That's what Gerald Bachmeier, the chief executive officer of Red Trail Energy, said on this episode of Plain Talk. His company just added carbon capture to their ethanol facility near Richardton, North Dakota. It officially began capturing carbon on June 16, 2022, and they expect to store underground 100 percent of the 180,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emitted annually from its fermentation process.

That's a big deal, but the regulatory process leading up to it may be the bigger deal. According to Bachmeier, it took North Dakota officials less than a year to permit their project. He compared that to the experience of another ethanol plant in Iowa which waited more than six years to get their permit from the feds at the EPA.

He expects North Dakota will be able to permit future projects even faster. "Ours took a little longer because we were the first one," he said.

Going forward, his company expects to add to their capture operations. He says the next phase is to capture the carbon coming off their heating systems, at which point their facility will be nearly carbon zero. He also said a part of their business in the future may be selling access to their storage well to other carbon-emitting businesses.

And that's a key factor in all of this. For Red Trail, capturing this carbon wasn't just a good environmental decision, but a good business decision as well. While the cost of developing this project was around $38 million, he expects his company will bring in upwards of $9 million per year in revenues from 45Q tax credits from the federal government, as well as commanding $0.15 cents per gallon more for their ethanol thanks to a better carbon rating.

Bachmeier sees a bright future for carbon capture. "For North Dakota's industries, I think we have a huge opportunity."

Forum Communications Company is proud to be a part of the Trust Project. Learn more at thetrustproject.org.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Plain TalkBy Forum Communications Co.

  • 3.8
  • 3.8
  • 3.8
  • 3.8
  • 3.8

3.8

78 ratings


More shows like Plain Talk

View all
The Art of Manliness by The Art of Manliness

The Art of Manliness

14,226 Listeners

The MeatEater Podcast by MeatEater

The MeatEater Podcast

37,884 Listeners

The Ben Shapiro Show by The Daily Wire

The Ben Shapiro Show

153,416 Listeners

Bison Media Zone by Forum Communications Co.

Bison Media Zone

19 Listeners

Kolpack and Izzo Podcast by Forum Communications Co.

Kolpack and Izzo Podcast

24 Listeners

Fore Play by Barstool Sports

Fore Play

10,421 Listeners

News & Views with Joel Heitkamp by MWC

News & Views with Joel Heitkamp

41 Listeners

The Remnant with Jonah Goldberg by The Dispatch

The Remnant with Jonah Goldberg

6,380 Listeners

Dizzo's Den by Forum Communications Co.

Dizzo's Den

7 Listeners

Afternoons Live with Tyler Axness by MWC

Afternoons Live with Tyler Axness

6 Listeners

Dakota Spotlight by James Wolner

Dakota Spotlight

836 Listeners

Cal of the Wild by MeatEater

Cal of the Wild

9,627 Listeners

Agweek Podcast by Forum Communications Co.

Agweek Podcast

8 Listeners

The Dispatch Podcast by The Dispatch

The Dispatch Podcast

3,162 Listeners

All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg by All-In Podcast, LLC

All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg

8,909 Listeners

The Megyn Kelly Show by SiriusXM

The Megyn Kelly Show

38,290 Listeners

Ruthless Podcast by Josh Holmes, Comfortably Smug, Michael Duncan and John Ashbrook

Ruthless Podcast

5,639 Listeners

Huskies Hockey Insider by Forum Communications Co.

Huskies Hockey Insider

1 Listeners

Post Bulletin Minute by Forum Communications Co.

Post Bulletin Minute

4 Listeners

Grand Forks Herald Minute by Forum Communications Co.

Grand Forks Herald Minute

5 Listeners

The Other Side of the Table by Forum Communications Co

The Other Side of the Table

7 Listeners

The Health Variant by Forum Communications Co.

The Health Variant

6 Listeners

Health Fusion by Forum Communications Co.

Health Fusion

3 Listeners

The Vault by Forum Communications Co.

The Vault

71 Listeners

WDAY Sports Minute by Forum Communications Co.

WDAY Sports Minute

1 Listeners

Brainerd Dispatch Minute by Forum Communications Co.

Brainerd Dispatch Minute

6 Listeners

Breaking Points with Krystal and Saagar by iHeartPodcasts

Breaking Points with Krystal and Saagar

9,535 Listeners

Morning Wire by The Daily Wire

Morning Wire

26,443 Listeners

Mitchell Republic Minute by Forum Communications Co.

Mitchell Republic Minute

1 Listeners

Echo Press Minute by Thalen Zimmerman

Echo Press Minute

0 Listeners

Archive Dive with the Superior Telegram by Forum Communications Co.

Archive Dive with the Superior Telegram

5 Listeners

Northland Outdoors by Forum Communications Co.

Northland Outdoors

4 Listeners

Growing Together: A Gardening Podcast by Forum Communications Co.

Growing Together: A Gardening Podcast

20 Listeners

Matters of Soul Importance with Roxane Salonen by Roxane Salonen

Matters of Soul Importance with Roxane Salonen

6 Listeners

She Overcomes: Becoming BOLD with Melanie Rudd by Melanie Iverson Rudd

She Overcomes: Becoming BOLD with Melanie Rudd

5 Listeners