Environmental Impact

Environmental Impact

Why the Cannabis Industry Needs Energy Efficiency - The Smart Energy Design Assistance Center

“In short, indoor cannabis grow facilities can be energy hogs. In Colorado, cannabis grow operations consume 300 GWh of electricity per year, which is about 0.6% of Colorado's total electricity consumption. Total energy costs for indoor grow operations vary between 20-50% of total operating costs, and indoor grow operations use ten times as much energy per square foot as a typical office building in the Southwest, according to a study by the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project.”

 

The electricity consumed by growing pot in Ontario is forecast to grow by 1,000 per cent over five years – Toronto Star

“If you forecast out five years, what we’re seeing is over a thousand per cent growth in electricity to a sector,” says Young, whose Crown corporation released a study on electrical use by cannabis growers in October.At a projected 1.258 terawatt-hour (TWh) consumption by 2024, pot producers will suck up far more energy than the 0.8TWh the province’s auto sector used in 2018.Last year, cannabis production in Ontario — which has the country’s largest capacity — consumed just 0.09 TWh.(Recreational cannabis was legalized in Canada on Oct. 17, 2018.)”

 

Environmental Risks and Opportunities in Cannabis Cultivation - BOTEC Analysis, UC Berkeley

“The most significant environmental effect of cannabis production is energy consumption, especially fossil energy use with climate effects from release of greenhouse gas. Indoor-grown marijuana is an energy-intensive product by weight, using on the order of 2000 kWh per pound of product (for comparison, aluminum requires only about 7 kWh per pound).”

 

CANNABIS CULTIVATION AND ITS LARGE ENERGY FOOTPRINT – CleanLeaf

“Energy costs typically meet or exceed the leasing cost of the growing space per month during production. Data from cannabis industry businesses, government agencies, and consumer studies has been pulled, and the results are distressing. Research suggests that cannabis production in the United States is responsible for the same amount of electricity used by 1.7 million homes.”

 

Indoor Cannabis Grow Centers Draining Electricity - Colin A. Young, State House News Service

“In 2018, the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources said the energy it would take to power grow lights for 660,000 square feet of cannabis canopy could negate the energy-saving effect of DOER's $11 million program to convert more than 130,000 streetlights statewide to LEDs.”

 

Electricity Use in Marijuana Production – National Conference of State Legislatures

“Pacific Power in Portland experienced seven blackouts traced to marijuana production facilities the summer after Oregon legalized recreational marijuana. Forty-five percent of Denver’s “load growth,” or increase in energy demand, is for electricity to power marijuana.”

 

Cannabis requires more water than commodity crops, researchers say - MjBizDaily

“A study reviewing environmental impacts of cannabis cultivation shows that growing the plant in both indoor and outdoor environments is water-intensive and that the high demand for water ultimately leads to water pollution and diversion.”

 

An inconvenient truth (about weed) – Politico

“To reach Biden’s 2050 climate goal, the nation has to do just about everything right. Every fossil fuel power plant will need to close or capture its carbon emissions; millions of buildings will need to abandon fossil fuels for electric appliances; all new cars on the road will need to be electric. Any sector going in the wrong direction, especially a rapidly growing one like cannabis, will hamper progress toward that goal.”