The Department of Energy will soon spend $36 million on projects aimed at reducing fertilizer emissions.
The Department says the goal is to reduce the amount of fertilizer that farmers use while maintaining yields. The research will surround synthetic nitrogen fertilizer used on corn and sorghum for ethanol production. The EPA claims U.S. ag makes up 11 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States.
Evelyn Wang, the Director of Advanced Research Projects at the Department of Energy says, “Given the importance of agriculture to the energy sector and our economy, technologies that reduce fertilizer-related energy emissions associated with ethanol, while shrinking operational costs and maintaining crop yields for the American farmer, are essential.”
