That could mean the upward trajectory of energy use will continue to tick upward for several more years before it flattens, and eventually decreases. More broadly, marijuana grows face a lot of economic pressures. “But it’s little bits at a time, and it’s over years and years and years.” “It does offset our electrical use,” Cullen said. CEO Tim Cullen said the company is slowly transitioning traditional fluorescent lights to LEDs in one of his grow rooms. Colorado Harvest experimented with LED lights for the vegetative phase of plants this summer. The company said it spends about $13,000 a month on electricity for one of its two grow facilities. The city started a working group to discuss sustainable cannabis cultivation, and even released a report explaining the best ways for the industry to save on lighting and cooling.īusinesses like Colorado Harvest Company are taking note. But city officials are encouraging more sustainable growing practices that involve LED lights and fine-tuning cooling systems to use less electricity. The industry has traditionally used energy-intensive lights to maximize yields. The majority of the city’s marijuana plants are grown indoors. “It actually means that they’re becoming more efficient in their facilities,” she said, and yet the energy use trajectory continues to plot upward for the industry.Ĭannabis plants represent an obstacle for Denver city officials who want to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050. The challenge is that the growing demand for marijuana is prompting facilities to produce more and more plants. There’s good news in the data: the amount of energy used per pound of marijuana grown is on the decline. Marijuana’s share of the energy pie is “growing overall at a much faster rate than the overall energy use in the city,” which has increased 1 to 2 percent in recent years. “It’s significant,” said Emily Backus, sustainability advisor for the department. CPR News has obtained new data from Denver’s Department of Public Health and Environment that shows the energy-hungry plants soak up nearly 4 percent of the city’s total electricity use. In 2016, the marijuana industry comprised 4 percent of Denver’s total electricity use.Īs Denver’s marijuana industry grows, so does its power needs. Grace Hood/CPR News Workers at Colorado Harvest Company check plants in a room designed to facilitate plant vegetation.
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