Harvestone Low Carbon Partners (HLCP), a producer of low-carbon biofuels, has secured $205 million in tax equity financing from Bank of America to support its carbon capture and storage (CCS) project at its Blue Flint biorefinery in North Dakota. This marks the first financing of its kind since the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in 2022.
The IRA introduced updates to the “45Q” tax credit, raising the credit to $85 per ton of carbon captured and stored from industrial facilities, and allowing the transfer of these credits to outside investors. HLCP’s Blue Flint facility, which produces 73 million gallons of ethanol annually, began CCS operations in October 2023 and has already captured over 125,000 metric tons of CO2. It anticipates capturing more than 200,000 tons annually.
The facility has captured more than 125,000 metric tons of CO2 to date, and anticipates capturing more than 200,000 tons per year.
Jeff Zueger, CEO of HLCP, said:
“Blue Flint’s carbon capture and sequestration project has helped the facility dramatically reduce emissions, produce ethanol with a significantly lower carbon intensity score, and strengthen the ethanol and agricultural markets for North Dakota.”
Bank of America’s $205 million investment will be tied to 45Q tax credits generated by the project, with the potential to purchase additional clean fuel tax credits as they become available. HLCP CEO Jeff Zueger highlighted the impact of the project in reducing emissions and supporting North Dakota’s ethanol and agricultural markets.
