Landus, Iowa's leading agricultural cooperative, partnered with Ideal Energy and Talus Ag to integrate solar energy and renewable ammonia production at one of its grain drying facilities. The plant, designed to produce one ton of ammonia daily, will distribute renewable fertilizer to Landus farmer-members while demonstrating efficient micro-scale production.

Talus Ag's innovative 1.4 MW ammonia electrolyzer creates ammonia using only water, electricity, and nitrogen – with no fossil fuel inputs. Ideal Energy's energy management system optimizes power consumption by running the electrolyzer between grain drying demand spikes, which typically account for 60% of facility energy costs. This 'valley filling' approach prevents additional demand charges while maximizing production using both solar and grid power.

The behind-the-meter system uses smart metering to track electrolyzer consumption, solar production, and facility usage, allowing the electrolyzer to adjust automatically based on real-time data while ensuring production tax credit compliance.

Specifications

Location: near Boone, IA

Solar Energy: 1,300 kW (DC) / 975 kW (AC)

DC/AC Ratio: 1.33

Electric Service: 480V Three Phase

Modules: (2408) Philadelphia Solar 540W PS-M144(HCBF)-540W

Inverters: (9) Solis 100kW Solis-100K-5G-US and (1) Solis 75kW Solis-75K-5G-US

Monitoring: eGauge Pro meter with CT sensors

Ammonia Electrolyzer: Talus Ag 1.4 MW

Ammonia Production: 365 tons / year (estimated)

Project Partners

Landus Cooperative – customer

Talus Ag – ammonia electrolyzer system

Ideal Energy – prime contractor, design & engineering, procurement, low-voltage construction

Waldinger Corporation – medium-voltage system construction

Shive-Hattery – design & engineering