Bill would repurpose ethanol support fund to help plants lower carbon intensity

Representative presenting the bill described Senate Bill 23-33 as a repurposing of an existing countercyclical ethanol-support program. The proposal maintains the prior funding mechanism — a share of certain vehicle registration revenues — but shifts the fund’s purpose to incentivize capital projects that reduce carbon intensity at ethanol plants.

Under the bill, eligible projects would include construction or replacement of infrastructure for carbon-dioxide capture and storage, beneficial use of carbon dioxide, energy-efficiency enhancements and ethanol-yield improvements. The program retains a cap on cumulative distributions and limits facility awards to a percentage of project cost and to a maximum per-biennium amount.

Supporters said the fund responds to market demands that ethanol producers demonstrate lower carbon scores to access regional and national markets; they argued the fund is a way to help existing plants adapt to evolving low-carbon fuel markets. Representatives noted the program would also permit up to $1 million for verification work to develop a carbon-intensity verification process.

Committee discussion focused on how verification would be implemented, whether the Department of Environmental Quality could assist and whether the fund’s projected biennial spend rates were realistic. The committee did not record a final vote in the excerpt reviewed for this summary.