Red Trail Energy Carbon Removal Project Added to Puro.earth Registry

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Red Trail Energy’s carbon removal credits are now available on the Puro.earth registry, reportedly marking the first ethanol production facility to generate CO2 removal certificates in the voluntary carbon market.

Red Trail Energy (RTE) was issued more than 150,000 CO2 removal credits (CORCs) for its bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) project. The BECCS operation captures carbon emitted during the fermentation process used to produce ethanol at the company's facility in North Dakota.

Once captured, carbon is sequestered about 6,500 feet beneath the RTE facility. The project reportedly represents the largest durable carbon removal project registered in the voluntary carbon market (VCM) to date, according to the company.

RTE was able to register its carbon capture project to the Puro.earth registry with the help of advisory firm, EcoEngineers. The credits are in compliance with Puro’s geologically stored carbon methodology, which ensures carbon is stored permanently and safely -- Puro.earth’s CORCs demonstrate that carbon will be durably stored for at least 1,000 years, the company said. RTE also underwent additional independent verification to ensure it met feedstock sustainability standards.

Carbon Credit Purchases May Help Scale Carbon Capture and Storage Technologies

The purchase of CORCs geared towards carbon capture projects may support further development of the comparatively new technology.

While cutting multi-industry carbon emissions is a well-known need for meeting global climate targets, removing carbon from the atmosphere will also be required to keep global temperatures below the levels decided in the Paris Agreement. Carbon capture currently remains in its early stages and will need to scale immensely in the near future to get on track towards meeting climate targets.

This level of growth will require ample funding in the coming years.

“Engineered carbon removal is in its infancy and there are a great many risks for project developers,” said David LaGreca, managing director of VCM services at EcoEngineers. “The need for high-quality removals programs, such as RTE, is undisputed in the context of our overrun global carbon budgets and the imperative to reduce carbon emissions. The VCM serves in this case to provide producers optionality for markets and to reduce revenue risks through diversification, consequently making such projects investable in the first place.”

With incoming financial support expected from registration with Puro.earth, RTE has been able to capture and store carbon through its own investment, considering future revenue that it will gain through carbon removal credits.

Environment + Energy Leader