A new study suggests that conventional vehicles can run on E-30 ethanol blends. If 10% of the state's vehicles switched to E-30, greenhouse gas emissions would be reduced by 64,000 tons a year, a professor says.
LINCOLN — Nebraska would create a “win-win” for the state’s ethanol industry as well as climate change by facilitating the creation of a carbon capture and storage facility, state lawmakers were told Tuesday.
State Sen. Mike Flood of Norfolk said establishing a carbon sequestration facility in Nebraska would provide ethanol plants, coal-fired power plants and manufacturers a place to store their carbon dioxide emissions instead of releasing them into the atmosphere.
For an ethanol plant, storing its carbon would improve the “carbon score” for the corn-based fuel it produces, making it more attractive for sale to California, which seeks fuels produced with low carbon.
“When I can find a win-win (situation), I’m all for it,” Flood said.
His proposal, Legislative Bill 650, would set up the legal and regulatory framework for the development of carbon sequestration wells, which would be at least 2,600 feet deep and store carbon, in an intermediate gas/liquid state, in underground formations conducive to storage.
Matt Joeckel, the state geologist and director of the Conservation and Survey Division at the University of Nebraska, said prior studies have shown that there are areas of central and western Nebraska that have the right conditions for carbon storage.
Joeckel added that he is aware of a company that is exploring establishing a carbon storage facility at an ethanol plant in the state but emphasized that it’s still an emerging technology. There are two dozen such sequestration facilities worldwide, with one in the U.S., at Decatur, Illinois.
“It is vital that comprehensive geologic and engineering studies are done first,” Joeckel said. “It matters what rock formations you’re putting this into, down to the microscopic scale.”
Two state senators, John Cavanaugh of Omaha and Eliot Bostar of Lincoln, raised concerns about such a project before LB 650 advanced from first-round debate on a 41-0 vote.
Bostar questioned whether increased seismic activity could be sparked by injecting the carbon underground, as fracking has done in oil well regions of Oklahoma. Cavanaugh wondered how personal property rights might be impacted.
Flood said he would work to address any environmental concerns about carbon sequestration before the bill got to second-round debate. Joeckel, when asked later Tuesday about Bostar’s concern, said that carbon sequestration is quite different from fracking for oil, and that the risk would be “vastly” lower.
Flood said he introduced the bill because it could help rural Nebraska. Venango Sen. Dan Hughes, who represents an area that could be conducive for carbon sequestration, said it presents a tremendous economic opportunity.
The federal Environmental Protection Agency, Flood said, would continue to have primary jurisdiction over carbon sequestration projects under LB 650. Two states, North Dakota and Wyoming, have passed bills to assume primary responsibility of carbon sequestration projects, he said.
Meet the current Nebraska state senators
Meet the Nebraska state senators

Nebraska has 49 state senators in the Legislature. Click through to find your state senator and others.

State Sen. Julie Slama
District: 1
From: Peru
Party: Republican

State Sen. Robert Clements
District: 2
From: Elmwood
Party: Republican

State Sen. Carol Blood
District: 3
From: Bellevue
Party: Democratic

State Sen. Robert Hilkemann
District: 4
From: Omaha
Party: Republican

State Sen. Mike McDonnell
District: 5
From: Omaha
Party: Democratic

State Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh
District: 6
From: Omaha
Party: Democratic

State Sen. Tony Vargas
District: 7
From: Omaha
Party: Democratic

State Sen. Megan Hunt
District: 8
From: Omaha
Party: Democratic

State Sen. John Cavanaugh
District: 9
From: Omaha
Party: Democratic

State Sen. Wendy DeBoer
District: 10
From: Bennington
Party: Democratic

State Sen. Terrell McKinney
District: 11
From: Omaha
Party: Democratic

State Sen. Steve Lathrop
District: 12
From: Omaha
Party: Democratic

State Sen. Justin Wayne
District: 13
From: Omaha
Party: Democratic

State Sen. John Arch
District: 14
From: La Vista
Party: Republican

State Sen. Lynne Walz
District: 15
From: Fremont
Party: Democratic

State Sen. Ben Hansen
District: 16
From: Blair
Party: Republican

State Sen. Joni Albrecht
District: 17
From: Thurston
Party: Republican

State Sen. Brett Lindstrom
District: 18
From: Omaha
Party: Republican

State Sen. Mike Flood
District: 19
From: Norfolk
Party: Republican

State Sen. John McCollister
District: 20
From: Omaha
Party: Republican

State Sen. Mike Hilgers
District: 21
From: Lincoln
Party: Republican

State Sen. Mike Moser
District: 22
From: Columbus
Party: Republican

State Sen. Bruce Bostelman
District: 23
From: Brainard
Party: Republican

State Sen. Mark Kolterman
District: 24
From: Seward
Party: Republican

State Sen. Suzanne Geist
District: 25
From: Lincoln
Party: Republican

State Sen. Matt Hansen
District: 26
From: Lincoln
Party: Democratic

State Sen. Anna Wishart
District: 27
From: Lincoln
Party: Democratic

State Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks
District: 28
From: Lincoln
Party: Democratic

State Sen. Eliot Bostar
District: 29
From: Lincoln
Party: Democratic

State Sen. Myron Dorn
District: 30
From: Adams
Party: Republican

State Sen. Rich Pahls
District: 31
From: Omaha
Party: Republican

State Sen. Tom Brandt
District: 32
From: Plymouth
Party: Republican

State Sen. Steve Halloran
District: 33
From: Hastings
Party: Republican

State Sen. Curt Friesen District: 34 From: Henderson Party: Republican

State Sen. Raymond Aguilar
District: 35
From: Grand Island
Party: Republican

State Sen. Matt Williams
District: 36
From: Gothenburg
Party: Republican

State Sen. John Lowe
District: 37
From: Kearney
Party: Republican

State Sen. Dave Murman
District: 38
From: Glenvil
Party: Republican

State Sen. Lou Ann Linehan
District: 39
From: Elkhorn
Party: Republican

State Sen. Tim Gragert
District: 40
From: Creighton
Party: Republican

State Sen. Tom Briese
District: 41
From: Albion
Party: Republican

State Sen. Mike Groene
District: 42
From: North Platte
Party: Republican

State Sen. Tom Brewer
District: 43
From: Gordon
Party: Republican

State Sen. Dan Hughes
District: 44
From: Venango
Party: Republican

State Sen. Rita Sanders
District: 45
From: Bellevue
Party: Republican

State Sen. Adam Morfeld
District: 46
From: Lincoln
Party: Democratic

State Sen. Steve Erdman
District: 47
From: Bayard
Party: Republican

State Sen. John Stinner
District: 48
From: Gering
Party: Republican

State Sen. Jen Day
District: 49
From: Omaha
Party: Democratic
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