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New Frontier Data, in partnership with Scale Microgrid Solutions and Resource Innovation Institute, is producing the most comprehensive analysis of current energy consumption in today’s fast growing and quickly evolving cannabis industry. The study will examine cultivators’ and operators’ energy consumption across North America and will provide operational insights and cost indicators that can immediately […]

“Long term, energy management is probably the single biggest driver of economic success in the cannabis market,” Hade says. “Today, energy costs represent anywhere from 25 percent to 50 percent of a cultivation facility’s total operating costs. That percentage will almost certainly go up as the cultivation process becomes increasingly automated, which is already happening.

A study estimated a single, indoor marijuana plant takes the equivalent of 70 gallons of oil to grow. Energy demand at Colorado’s largest utility grew about 2 percent after marijuana was legalized.

The cannabis industry’s thirst for energy has been well documented, with a majority of commercial cultivations burning electricity indoors because of local laws banning outdoor grows.

Forward-thinking companies are pushing the cannabis industry to employ a variety of techniques and technologies to reduce energy consumption, cut down operating expenses and be more environmentally friendly

True story: pot’s not green

Microgrids for the cannabis industry could solve the industry’s energy hog problem — and help utilities grappling with increases in demand in states where cannabis is legal.

Electricity-intensive cannabis production has a big carbon footprint, but with legalization, some eco-conscious growers want to make pot a shining model of sustainability.