Cannabis Energy: Investing In Green From The Ground Up

One of the most exciting elements of the new and growing cannabis industry is that we can build it right from the ground up. Around the country, more and more companies are seeking sustainable solutions to ensure a more responsible, competitive, and green future in the marijuana industry. 

Cannabis Energy Consumption

At most grow sites, the lights are on twelve hours a day. Flip the switch in your living room and leave the lights on for 15 days out of 30, and you’ll see a jump in your electric bill. Now, imagine an entire room of lights, many much more powerful. A 5,000 square foot growing facility uses more than ten times as much energy as a comparable home or office. That’s why growers are recognizing that investing in the right technology now is going to make all the difference. An excellent example of this outsized energy footprint comes from Boulder, Colorado. A 5,000 square foot facility was recorded as hitting nearly 42,000 kilowatt-hours per month compared to the 680 kilowatt-hour average of local residential households.Cannabis is growing, literally. Thirty-three states now have some form of legalized marijuana, and companies are sprouting up across the nation to meet new demands and explore new opportunities in marijuana, hemp, and related products like CBD oils. As these firms break ground, they’re balancing the rush to position themselves as industry leaders with the need to structure their production to last for decades. They’re learning from past mistakes, too. The energy-intensive facilities caused sporadic outages when marijuana was legalized in 2015. That led the local government to explore the need for building additional substations and how to best balance the new demand with the existing loads. 

Sustainable Cannabis

Many facilities are relying on renewable energy sources like solar and wind to reduce their reliance on the grid. One such grower in California, Canndescent, installed 700 solar units on their parking structure’s roof in an effort to reduce their impact on the grid. It’s paid off, literally; the solar panels reduce their electrical bill from $30,000 to $12,000. What is even harder to quantify is just how important these sustainability efforts are to the consumer. In addition to lower operating costs and, as a result, prices, many customers value the environmental efforts made by their suppliers. They see the investment of these companies in lowering carbon emissions as in line with their own beliefs, and there’s good reason to belief that sustainability efforts are great for customer loyalty and brand recognition. 

Cannabis Energy Consulting

At Keen, we’re excited about our many projects that are helping to build the cannabis industry the right way. The more energy-intensive the facility, the more opportunity to have a long-lasting impact and far-reaching benefits. This is how we save the world, one kilowatt at a time.