Senate bill would repurpose ethanol fund to pay for low‑carbon fuel projects; agriculture and ethanol industry back the change

Senator Terry Wanzek introduced Senate Bill 2333 to the Senate Finance and Taxation Committee, proposing to replace the existing Ethanol Production Incentive Fund with a Low Carbon Fuels Fund that would support capital projects that reduce the carbon intensity of ethanol production.

“By aligning incentives with infrastructure investment that reduces carbon intensity, this bill positions North Dakota to continue to compete in emerging low‑carbon markets,” Tracy Olsen, chief operating officer of Guardian Energy Management and president of the North Dakota Ethanol Producers Association board, told the committee.

Under the bill, current funding—40% of receipts from registration of certain farm vehicles now directed to the production incentive—would be redirected to the Low Carbon…