(Radio Iowa) – A northwest Iowa farmer who has agreed to let the Summit Carbon pipeline run through his family’s land is part of a group lobbying legislators today (Tuesday) — urging passage of the proposal that would give the company more leeway to re-chart its pipeline route around landowners who won’t sign a voluntary easement. Kelly Nieuwenhuis of Primghar is a former member of the Iowa Corn Promotion Board and an investor in the Siouxland Energy ethanol plant.

“This project will create a lot of growth in demand for the corn producers across the state of Iowa, so trying to get the project done,” Nieuwenhuis said. “Do our best to get as many voluntary easements as possible. 100% would be awesome, but we’re in today’s work, so I don’t know how that’s going to happen.” Nieuwenhuis was president of Siouxland Energy’s board of directors when it signed the contract to hook up to Summit’s pipeline to export carbon from the plant in Sioux Center.

“At that time I thought: ‘Wow, boy, this is going to be a slam dunk. The benefit for the ethanol indusry that’s going to come from this project is going to be huge,'” Nieuwenhuis said. “And so it’s been more of a challenge than I anticipated, but I think the message is getting out that it is beneficial.” Nieuwenhuis points to Nebraska, where a natural gas pipeline was converted and in September began shipping liquefied carbon from a dozen ethanol plants to Wyoming. Eleven of those plants are in Nebraska. One is on Iowa’s western border.

Nieuwenhuis says Nebraska’s operation shows what could happen for every Iowa ethanol plant. “Having a pipeline like Summit Carbon Solutions lowers the carbon intensity of ethanol by 30 points,” Nieuwenhius said. “That’s huge.” Nieuwenhuis spoke with reporters after posing for a group photo with dozens of like-minded people who’re at the statehouse today (Tuesday). Based on his experience with pipelines and other utility projects, Nieuwenhuis told reporters he had no qualms about signing a voluntary easement for Summit’s pipeline.

“I’ve got four natural gas pipelines through our farms. We’ve got the Dakota Access pipeline through one of our farms. I’ve got wind turbines with MidAmerican. I’ve got electrical transmission lines that go diagonlly across one of my farms,” Nieuwenhuis said. “…I’ve never had an issue with any of them.” Nieuwenhuis farms with two brothers and all their corn is sold to produce ethanol. He’s a current member of the National Corn Growers Association’s Corn Board, a group that supervises the organization’s activities and serve as public advocates for its goals.