A new Decision Innovation Solutions study found that “Iowa’s ethanol industry would lose three-fourths of its production, or about $10.3 billion annually, to neighboring states” without three proposed carbon pipelines, The Des Moines Register reported.

The study, commissioned by the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association, estimated that without the three proposed carbon pipelines, Iowa farmers would lose local markets for more than 1 billion bushels of corn annually,  driving down local corn prices.

The study noted that “45Z tax credits are a game changer. Clean fuels such as ethanol which are produced with CO2 capture and sequestration via pipeline are the future for the renewable fuels industry. Iowa’s ethanol industry is at a crossroads – will it be positioned to be the leader in ethanol and other clean fuels or watch that future move over the horizon?”

Dave Miller of Decision Innovation Solutions is the author of the report. “We built the industry on operating margins in the 20 to 30 cents a gallon range on gross operating margins. Our estimate is that with a 45-Z tax credit that gross operating margin basically doubles,” he told Radio Iowa.

Read the full report here.