CO2 Production by the U.S. Ethanol Industry and the Potential Value of Sequestration

Scott Irwin

farmdoc daily, 2025, vol. 14, issue 34

Abstract: There has long been an interest in the role of biofuels in “decarbonizing” the transportation sector in the U.S. An issue that has been receiving a great deal of attention lately is the potential for ethanol plants to lower their carbon footprint by sequestering CO2 that is generated by the ethanol production process. For example, several efforts are underway to construct pipelines to transport CO2 from ethanol plants to areas with suitable geologic formations for sequestration, a process that has not been without controversy (e.g., Douglas, 2022). Sequestration projects have been spurred by incentives included in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) passed by the U.S. Congress in 2022 and signed into law by President Biden. The purpose of this article is to estimate the total CO2 produced by the U.S. ethanol industry and the potential value to the industry of earning tax credits for sequestration.

Keywords: Agribusiness; Energy Markets; Profitability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:illufd:358572

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.358572

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