Biofuels giant POET sued the Wabash County Commissioners in federal court late last week over a moratorium on carbon capture and sequestration, or CCS, projects.
CCS involves grabbing carbon dioxide emissions from power plants and other industrial processes and then injecting the gas thousands of feet below the surface of the earth into underground geological formations.
The carbon dioxide stays underground indefinitely, causing fewer greenhouse gases to be emitted into the atmosphere.
For more than a decade, federal and state governments, including Indiana, have promoted the development of CCS projects–complete with tax incentives and regulatory structures.
POET has an ethanol plant in North Manchester and had planned a CCS project in the county for years.
But in June, the Wabash County Commissioners passed a moratorium on the projects.
POET officials say that the indefinite ban on the project is costing the company millions of dollars.
The Wabash County attorney declined to comment on pending litigation.
