Report: Noem is investor in ethanol plant with ties to Summit Carbon Solutions

July 3, 2023

PIERRE, S.D.–Gov. Kristi Noem is an investor in an ethanol plant that’s partnered with a company proposing a controversial carbon dioxide pipeline.

South Dakota Searchlight reports the ethanol plant is Granite Falls Energy in Granite Falls, Minnesota. Noem’s financial disclosures from her former service in Congress and her current time as governor reveal that she and her husband are investors in the plant. Summit Carbon Solutions, a company proposing a carbon pipeline through South Dakota, lists Granite Falls Energy as one of its partners.

Noem’s spokesman, Ian Fury, says Noem “invested in Granite Falls many years ago and has always appropriately disclosed her finances.”

Fury went on to say, “Governor Noem has always supported our ethanol industry. Like many farmers and those who have made a living in agriculture, she puts her money where her mouth is.”