North Dakota panel will reconsider denying permit for Summit CO2 pipeline

abcnews.go.com:

North Dakota utility regulators will reconsider their denial of a siting permit for a proposed carbon dioxide pipeline

BISMARCK, N.D. — North Dakota utility regulators in an unusual move granted a request to reconsider their denial of a key permit for a proposed carbon dioxide pipeline.

North Dakota's Public Service Commission in a 2-1 vote on Friday granted Summit Carbon Solutions' request for reconsideration. Chairman Randy Christmann said the panel will set a hearing schedule and “clarify the issues to be considered."

Reconsideration “only allows additional evidence for the company to try to persuade us that they are addressing the deficiencies,” he said.

Denying Summit's request would have meant the company would have to reapply, with a monthslong process that would start all over again without any of the information in the current case, including lengthy testimony.

Summit Executive Vice President Wade Boeshans told The Associated Press that the company appreciates the panel's decision and the opportunity to present additional evidence and address the regulators' concerns.

The panel last month unanimously denied Summit a siting permit for its 320-mile proposed route through the state, part of a $5.5 billion, 2,000-mile pipeline network that would carry planet-warming CO2 emissions from 30-some ethanol plants in five states to be buried deep underground in central North Dakota.

Supporters view carbon capture projects such as Summit's as a combatant of climate change, with lucrative, new federal tax incentives and billions from Congress for such carbon capture efforts. Opponents question the technology's effectiveness at scale and the need for potentially huge investments over cheaper renewable energy sources.

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