wait til we tell them, many who also are against oil and coal, that we have to build more coal fired electrical plants to grow the weed for them!
Power to the pot: Marijuana growers face electric fee
Trevor Hughes, USA TODAY 11:02 p.m. EST November 10, 2014
In Boulder, Colo., a new tax on electricity usage by marijuana growers is the latest effort by governments and power companies to respond to the heavy demand that legal marijuana grows place on the power grid. Trevor Hughes, USA TODAY
More power to the pot?
(Photo: Trevor Hughes/USA TODAY)
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BOULDER, Colo. Marijuana growers around this famously pot-friendly city next year will start paying special fees to offset their contributions to climate change.
A new county assessment on electricity usage by marijuana growers is the latest effort by governments and power companies to respond to the heavy demand that legal marijuana grows place on the power grid.
In Colorado and Washington states, the vast majority of the legal recreational marijuana is grown indoors under powerful lights used to mimic the sun. Those lights consume huge amounts of electricity, and it's a business model that only works out because the crop is so valuable: A single plant can be worth $6,000 once harvested, processed and sold at retail.
"They're using more energy than almost anybody else," said Ron Flax, Boulder County's sustainability coordinator. "There's nothing else that comes close."
Twenty-three states have legalized medical marijuana, and four states Colorado, Washington, Oregon and Alaska, along with Washington, D.C. have legalized both recreational and medical marijuana use.
In the Pacific Northwest, utility experts say marijuana growers in 20 years will be demanding as much power as a small city unless they can persuade growers to switch to more energy-efficient LED lights. The Northwest Power and Conservation Council said it expects an explosion in demand over the coming years as growers in Oregon, Washington and other nearby states boost legal production.
Flax said growers need so much power there's no way alternative energy sources today can serve them, meaning the electricity comes from burning fossil fuels.
"They don't have a speedometer. They get a speeding ticket in the mail once a month from the utility," Flax said.
In addition to lighting, growers purify incoming air with filters, and run air conditioners to cool the air being heated by the powerful lights. Indoor growing costs more but allows producers to harvest multiple crops annually under controlled circumstances that are easier to secure against theft.
Growing marijuana plants appear purple under the intense
Growing marijuana plants appear purple under the intense lights of an indoor grow room in Denver, Colo. (Photo: Trevor Hughes, USA TODAY)
Marijuana can be grown either inside or out. Outside is cheaper, and can yield more usable product per plant, but risks contamination from unfiltered air, water and soil. Indoor grows are less efficient and cost more because they require lights, but give growers more control and the opportunity for continual harvests.
An average 2,400-square-foot home uses 903 kilowatt hours of power monthly, according to the federal government. A marijuana grow consumes about 360 kWh a month per 25 square feet, according to industry experts, more during the different growing phases. A grow that size accommodates 20-25 plants, and sucks as much power as 29 refrigerators, according to power company estimates.
Across the country, growers say, 100,000-square-foot warehouses filled with marijuana are normal.
All told, it takes about 5,000 kWh to grow 1 kilogram of pot, says NPCC.
But because marijuana remains illegal at the federal level, land-grant universities like Colorado State are prohibited from giving pot growers the same kinds of guidance and best-practice advice they offer to conventional farmers. That means growers just blast their plants with lights because the cost of wasted electricity is less than the danger of a lost crop.
Boulder County will levy a charge of 2.16 cents per kWh on all electricity consumed by marijuana growers, which works out to about $100 extra for each kilogram of finished pot. The growers also have the option of offsetting their energy use by installing their own energy sources.
Initially those special fees will pay for government workers to advise marijuana growers how to use less energy. Experts say growers could cut their power bills in half simply by switching to high-efficiency LED lights, which cost more to buy.
Additional costs might prompt growers to start thinking more carefully about their power consumption, said Derek Peterson, the CEO of California-based hydroponic farm company Terra Tech, which grows herbs like thyme and basil, along with medical marijuana. Peterson says the high profits on marijuana mean growers never worried all that much about their power bills.
His company specializes in taking lessons learned from low-margin crops like basil and applying them to marijuana production.
"There are so many people who overblast their grows... and it's really not the right way to do things," Peterson said. "The margins here are so great that entrepreneurs aren't driven by necessity.
The high-power consumption was once an easy way for cops to track down large illegal indoor marijuana grows. Some municipal utilities would periodically report above-average users to police, who could then get a warrant to investigate further. In some cases, the extreme power demands would blow out transformers.
Several years ago, a northern Colorado utility contacted law enforcement after discovering an isolated house tucked back on a dirt road was drawing as much power as a city block, forcing linemen to install super-sized equipment meant for urban use. The grower ultimately pleaded guilty to federal drug charges.
Marijuana grower Ryan Griego of southern Colorado this fall harvested 1,000 plants he and his staff nurtured legally in the warm sun, tucked into a remote canyon. Next year, he hopes to grow a similar crop in a $120,000 greenhouse complex next to his Pueblo store, Cannaseur. Considering that each plant he grew this summer was worth $4,000 to $6,000, he expects to recoup his massive investment quickly.
"The greenhouses we built have a light deprivation system that opens and closes to allow in natural light that will cut down our electricity costs significantly," he said. "With a greenhouse like ours we can cut our costs as well as increase our yields."
Power to the pot: Marijuana growers face electric fee
Trevor Hughes, USA TODAY 11:02 p.m. EST November 10, 2014
In Boulder, Colo., a new tax on electricity usage by marijuana growers is the latest effort by governments and power companies to respond to the heavy demand that legal marijuana grows place on the power grid. Trevor Hughes, USA TODAY
More power to the pot?
(Photo: Trevor Hughes/USA TODAY)
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BOULDER, Colo. Marijuana growers around this famously pot-friendly city next year will start paying special fees to offset their contributions to climate change.
A new county assessment on electricity usage by marijuana growers is the latest effort by governments and power companies to respond to the heavy demand that legal marijuana grows place on the power grid.
In Colorado and Washington states, the vast majority of the legal recreational marijuana is grown indoors under powerful lights used to mimic the sun. Those lights consume huge amounts of electricity, and it's a business model that only works out because the crop is so valuable: A single plant can be worth $6,000 once harvested, processed and sold at retail.
"They're using more energy than almost anybody else," said Ron Flax, Boulder County's sustainability coordinator. "There's nothing else that comes close."
Twenty-three states have legalized medical marijuana, and four states Colorado, Washington, Oregon and Alaska, along with Washington, D.C. have legalized both recreational and medical marijuana use.
In the Pacific Northwest, utility experts say marijuana growers in 20 years will be demanding as much power as a small city unless they can persuade growers to switch to more energy-efficient LED lights. The Northwest Power and Conservation Council said it expects an explosion in demand over the coming years as growers in Oregon, Washington and other nearby states boost legal production.
Flax said growers need so much power there's no way alternative energy sources today can serve them, meaning the electricity comes from burning fossil fuels.
"They don't have a speedometer. They get a speeding ticket in the mail once a month from the utility," Flax said.
In addition to lighting, growers purify incoming air with filters, and run air conditioners to cool the air being heated by the powerful lights. Indoor growing costs more but allows producers to harvest multiple crops annually under controlled circumstances that are easier to secure against theft.
Growing marijuana plants appear purple under the intense
Growing marijuana plants appear purple under the intense lights of an indoor grow room in Denver, Colo. (Photo: Trevor Hughes, USA TODAY)
Marijuana can be grown either inside or out. Outside is cheaper, and can yield more usable product per plant, but risks contamination from unfiltered air, water and soil. Indoor grows are less efficient and cost more because they require lights, but give growers more control and the opportunity for continual harvests.
An average 2,400-square-foot home uses 903 kilowatt hours of power monthly, according to the federal government. A marijuana grow consumes about 360 kWh a month per 25 square feet, according to industry experts, more during the different growing phases. A grow that size accommodates 20-25 plants, and sucks as much power as 29 refrigerators, according to power company estimates.
Across the country, growers say, 100,000-square-foot warehouses filled with marijuana are normal.
All told, it takes about 5,000 kWh to grow 1 kilogram of pot, says NPCC.
But because marijuana remains illegal at the federal level, land-grant universities like Colorado State are prohibited from giving pot growers the same kinds of guidance and best-practice advice they offer to conventional farmers. That means growers just blast their plants with lights because the cost of wasted electricity is less than the danger of a lost crop.
Boulder County will levy a charge of 2.16 cents per kWh on all electricity consumed by marijuana growers, which works out to about $100 extra for each kilogram of finished pot. The growers also have the option of offsetting their energy use by installing their own energy sources.
Initially those special fees will pay for government workers to advise marijuana growers how to use less energy. Experts say growers could cut their power bills in half simply by switching to high-efficiency LED lights, which cost more to buy.
Additional costs might prompt growers to start thinking more carefully about their power consumption, said Derek Peterson, the CEO of California-based hydroponic farm company Terra Tech, which grows herbs like thyme and basil, along with medical marijuana. Peterson says the high profits on marijuana mean growers never worried all that much about their power bills.
His company specializes in taking lessons learned from low-margin crops like basil and applying them to marijuana production.
"There are so many people who overblast their grows... and it's really not the right way to do things," Peterson said. "The margins here are so great that entrepreneurs aren't driven by necessity.
The high-power consumption was once an easy way for cops to track down large illegal indoor marijuana grows. Some municipal utilities would periodically report above-average users to police, who could then get a warrant to investigate further. In some cases, the extreme power demands would blow out transformers.
Several years ago, a northern Colorado utility contacted law enforcement after discovering an isolated house tucked back on a dirt road was drawing as much power as a city block, forcing linemen to install super-sized equipment meant for urban use. The grower ultimately pleaded guilty to federal drug charges.
Marijuana grower Ryan Griego of southern Colorado this fall harvested 1,000 plants he and his staff nurtured legally in the warm sun, tucked into a remote canyon. Next year, he hopes to grow a similar crop in a $120,000 greenhouse complex next to his Pueblo store, Cannaseur. Considering that each plant he grew this summer was worth $4,000 to $6,000, he expects to recoup his massive investment quickly.
"The greenhouses we built have a light deprivation system that opens and closes to allow in natural light that will cut down our electricity costs significantly," he said. "With a greenhouse like ours we can cut our costs as well as increase our yields."
