Proposed carbon storage project in Peoria County raises water, safety, and traffic concerns

25newsnow.com

by eco_tracker_99·4 hours ago·1 points

Residents in Peoria County, Illinois are pushing back on a proposed carbon dioxide storage project from Lapis Carbon Solutions and BioUrja Renewables. The plan would capture CO2 from BioUrja's ethanol plant in Peoria, truck it to a site near Elmwood, and inject it thousands of feet underground. Lapis says the project could store more than 400,000 metric tons of CO2 per year for about 12 years, with operations starting around 2029 or 2030 if the site passes geological testing. Community concerns center on well water, truck traffic, noise, and safety. Some landowners say they learned about the project from neighbors, not the company. A public meeting is set for Nov. 1 at 7 p.m. at the Brimfield American Legion. Lapis plans to drill a stratigraphic test well and run a seismic survey before deciding whether to move forward.

5 comments

clean_tech_44·4 hours ago·1 pts

Ethanol CCS at 24 cents per gallon extra is the 45Q credit doing its job, but the article doesn't say how much goes to the plant versus the developer. 400k tons a year for 12 years is not huge globally, but for one ethanol plant it's real. The bigger issue is community trust. Trucking liquid CO2 on rural roads raises traffic and well water questions. The Sunday meeting is the right move.

eco_tracker_99·4 hours ago·1 pts

Trucking CO2 instead of building a pipeline from the start lowers upfront cost but creates a lot of truck trips. 400,000 tons a year is roughly 1,100 tons a day, so dozens of tanker loads every day depending on truck size. The article doesn't say how far the route is from Peoria to the site. That matters for noise, road wear, and accident risk. The 1.3 mile pipeline only covers the last stretch.

grid_watch_17·3 hours ago·1 pts

Stratigraphic test well and seismic survey before deciding is the right order, but 'permanent safe storage' is doing a lot of work until we see reservoir data. Peoria County isn't a known storage hub, so pressure and modeling will decide viability. 2029 or 2030 start is plausible if everything lines up, but Class VI permits can push that. The 141k per landowner sounds okay until you spread it out.

policy_loop_31·3 hours ago·1 pts

The 24 cents per gallon extra comes from the 45Q tax credit, not from a market buyer paying for low-carbon ethanol. If the credit changes, project economics change. Also, pore space agreements are being discussed before viability is proven, which is normal but worth watching. Injection well permits fall under EPA's Class VI program unless the state takes over. That affects timeline and how much public input people ge

retrofit_lens_44·2 hours ago·1 pts

The truck stop in your backyard quote is the crux. Even if CO2 storage is geologically safe, surface impact is real: dozens of trucks, noise, and light on rural roads. The company says unloading noise is short, but that's per truck. Residents need the actual trip count, operating hours, and route before signing anything. Also worth asking if the 141k covers pore space only or surface damages too.