The developer planning a 1,300-mile network of carbon dioxide pipelines through the farm belt said Friday that it’s scrapping the project, citing the “unpredictable nature of the regulatory and government processes” in two of the five states it would cross.
The decision by Omaha, Neb.-based Navigator CO2 Ventures comes on the heels of a decision by South Dakota regulators to deny a permit for the Heartland Greenway project across 112 miles on the state’s western edge.
“As good stewards of capital and responsible managers of people, we have made the difficult decision to cancel the Heartland Greenway project,” Navigator CEO Matt Vining said in a statement. “We are disappointed that we will not be able to provide services to our customers and thank them for their continued support.”
The Navigator project was one of three major CO2 pipelines being developed in the Midwest. The others are a nearly 2,000-mile project proposed by Summit Carbon Solutions and a 280-mile project by Wolf Carbon Solutions.
Pipeline developers have sought to take advantage of federal tax credits for carbon capture and sequestration, which were bolstered in last year’s Inflation Reduction Act.
Such projects are key to the Biden administration’s efforts to slash energy sector greenhouse gas emissions.
The Summit project has also run into trouble.
In August, North Dakota regulators denied a siting permit necessary to build roughly 320 miles of CO2 pipeline in the state. The company this week said it would delay the planned startup of the pipeline until 2026. The project was initially supposed to be operational next year.
