California explores energy impacts of cannabis cultivation

The strain that California’s legalized cannabis industry could place on the state’s power grid came into focus on Tuesday, as marijuana cultivators, energy regulators and utility companies huddled to begin hashing out how to square the state’s clean energy goals with the surge in electricity usage expected to accompany recreational pot.

The California Public Utilities Commission hosted a pair of panel discussions that brought together cannabis and energy industry professionals from California, Oregon, Washington State and Colorado — all of which have moved to legalize recreational marijuana in recent years — to share information and experiences about energy usage and conservation in growing marijuana in their respective states.

[...] he said he expects the PUC to consider “distinct set of (electricity) rates for cannabis to help ensure that electricity consumption in the sector supports our greenhouse gas reduction goals and energy efficiency goals.”

Marijuana cultivators and utility company representatives from Oregon, Washington and Colorado emphasized the importance of creating credit and rebate programs designed to incentivize growers to adopt things like energy-efficient lighting systems to cut down on power usage for indoor grows.

[...] while indoor growing operations have proliferated in other states, representatives from California’s marijuana cultivation community suggested that the best bet for curbing excessive energy use in this state will come from promoting outdoor grows or greenhouses that use a mixture of electric light and sunlight.

Taking advantage of California’s agriculture-friendly climate to promote open-air or field grows “seems much more efficient and realistic” compared to creating and implementing an energy credit program, said Kristin Nevedal, program director for Americans for Safe Access and a board member at the Cannabis Industry Association.