Minnesota Launches Green Fertilizer Grant Program

Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) announced a new Green Fertilizer Grant Program that will support agricultural and rural electric cooperatives to invest in green fertilizer manufacturing. The MDA will begin accepting applications on December 18, 2024, and may award between $250,000 and $6.665 million for business-ready and shovel-ready projects. Applications will be due March 18, 2025. Applicants are required to have long-term offtake agreements between the cooperative and the green fertilizer production facility, while also obtaining training in best management practices in the use of green fertilizer. Additionally, the green fertilizer must be produced from electrolyzers that have matched electricity consumption with wind or solar or are connected directly to a wind or solar facility. MDA notes that, while local production and use of green nitrogen-based fertilizers is one strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, green fertilizers have significant climate and sustainability benefits compared to fossil-fuel derived nitrogen-based fertilizers.