Researchers believe that if the chemical is made with renewable energy, it could be used as a clean source for fertilizer, fuel, and heat.
This story originally appeared on Yale Environment 360 and is part of the Climate Desk collaboration. In Minnesota, there's a research farm peppered with wind turbines that, when in full swing, boasts an astonishingly low carbon footprint. The wind powers a chemical plant that makes ammonia, which can not only be spread as fertilizer under the turbines, but also fuels an experimental tractor, stores energy for a non-windy day, and—soon—will heat the barns that dry their grains. All without producing CO 2 . "For deep decarbonization of agriculture, you switch to green ammonia," says Michael Reese, director of the University of Minnesota project. The university's studies have shown that using green ammonia ("green" in the sense that it is made with renewable energy) for fertilizer, fuel, and heat could drive down farming's carbon footprint by as much as 90 percent for corn and small grain crops. "That's transformative," Reese says. Advocates of this alternative, zero-carbon liquid fuel see…