When Navigator CO2 Ventures decided to pull the plug on its long-planned Heartland Greenway project, a vast network that would have captured carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from dozens of ethanol producers in the Midwest and Great Plains then piped them hundreds of miles for permanent sequestration, it was a significant setback for the Biden administration’s climate goals. More than that, it showed how large-scale carbon-capture projects face opposition from seemingly all sides and how the lack of a meaningful regulatory framework at the federal level only adds to the industry’s challenges. In today’s RBN blog, we look at the Heartland Greenway cancellation, what it says about the future of similar projects, and what regulatory changes might be needed at the federal level to make large-scale carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) a reality.
RBN Energy’s US CO₂ Infrastructure map brings together legacy Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) assets, as well as announced large-scale Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) and Carbon Capture, Utilization and Sequestration (CCUS) projects, all in our signature concise, accurate, and intelligible style.
Ethanol plants are an obvious choice for carbon capture, given that the CO2 resulting from ethanol fermentation is highly concentrated, which makes capturing it more efficient (and less expensive) compared to many other industrial processes. That was the appeal of the Heartland Greenway project (dashed green line in Figure 1 below), which we first wrote about back in August 2021. One of three projects aimed at capturing emissions from ethanol production, it was ambitious in scope. It would have captured and permanently sequestered CO2 from a diverse group of industrial customers in five states: Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska and South Dakota. (Iowa is the top U.S. producer of ethanol, followed by Nebraska, Illinois, Minnesota, Indiana and South Dakota.) The project would have helped dozens of ethanol plants finance and construct their CO₂ capture equipment; transported the captured CO₂ over a newly built, 1,300-mile-plus pipeline network; and permanently sequestered up to 15 million metric tons per annum (MMtpa) of CO2 at a series of Class VI wells in south-central Illinois (gray oval to bottom-right of Figure 1).
Figure 1. Canceled and Planned Greenfield CO2 Pipeline Projects. Source: RBN
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About the song
“Rock and a Hard Place” was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards and appears as the first song on side two of The Rolling Stones’ 21st American studio album, Steel Wheels. Released as the second single from the album in October 1989 and backed with the non-LP track “Cook Cook Blues,” it went to #23 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart. Personnel on the record were: Mick Jagger (lead vocals, guitar), Keith Richards, Ron Wood (guitar), Bill Wyman (bass), Charlie Watts (drums), Matt Clifford, Chuck Leavell (keyboards), The Kick Horns (horns), and Lisa Fischer, Sarah Dash, Bernard Fowler (backing vocals).
Steel Wheels was recorded between March-May 1989 at AIR in Monserrat and mixed at Olympic in London and The Palace of Ben Abbou in Tangier, Morocco. Production was handled by Chris Kimsey and The Glimmer Twins (Jagger and Richards). Hailed as a comeback album upon its release, it marked the patching up of the working relationship between Jagger and Richards, who had been at odds with each other for a few years prior. It also marked the launching of The Rolling Stones’ largest world tour to date, the Steel Wheels Tour. The album was released in August 1989 and went to #3 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart. It has been certified 2x Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. Four singles were released from the LP.
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Eight members have passed through the band since its formation. Founding member Brian Jones died in July 1969, and Charlie Watts in August 2021. Original bassist Bill Wyman retired from the band in 1993. Original members Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, along with long-time guitarist Ron Wood continue to record and tour as The Rolling Stones today. They have released 31 studio albums, 13 live albums, 28 compilation albums, three EPs, and 122 singles. They have won four Grammy Awards, three MTV Video Music Awards, one World Music Award, and are members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The band released their latest album, Hackney Diamonds, in October 2023.
