Denver’s Energy Use Is Surging, and It’s Because of Weed

The bud may be immature , but growing it really is n’t : grass grower in Denver are strain the city ’s electric grid .

Denver is experiencing empale electricity using up , with nigh one-half of that growth coming from its burgeon pot diligence , as the Denver Postreports :

Citywide electrical energy use has been rising at the rate of 1.2 per centum a year , and 45 per centum of that increase come in from marijuana - spring up deftness , Denver officials say Wednesday .

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Now , even though the increase in electricity purpose is related to the increment is dank bud cultivation , the mourning band growing industry still apply less than two percent of Denver ’s electrical energy tout ensemble . But it ’s increase at such a mellow rate that the number will swell unless the city ’s mourning band purveyors figure out more eco - favorable growing method .

The reason why weed is such an energy - suck ? Lighting . For indoor grow ops , plant need lots of artificial illumination . That on its own sucking up energy , but then those lighting also ignite up the growing facilities , which means they involve more air conditioning . They also need respiration fans and humidness regulators .

Boulder Weekly has more uncheerful stats onthe problem with indoor weed growth :

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According to data from Xcel Energy and estimates from those intimate with indoor growing , a single light used to maturate 16 square foot of pot consumes about half as much energy as the middling Colorado house in a one - month meter skeletal system .

This is n’t just a Denver problem . Growing sens requires a lot of Department of Energy all over . As City Labpointed out , a Columbia Environmental Law Journal reportrecently highlightedhow draining the tummy industry is on energy all over the US :

It eat six - times as much energy as the pharmaceuticals industry and requires eight - times as much energy per straight foot as the average U.S. commercial-grade building . It is figure that marijuana presently consumes at least one percent of all of the country ’s electrical energy . And in California , which reportedly has the prominent Cannabis sativa growing diligence in the United States , consumption totals three percent of California ’s full electricity wasting disease .

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So , what to do about weed ’s Department of Energy suction ? Lighting companiesare working with pot companieson more energy - efficient lead lighting pick . Tesla hasa powerful new batterythat could come in ready to hand for preserve push costs down for weed raiser in emergency power outages , or serve store home - generate solar energy , but there ’s clearly a need for more comprehensive solutions .

In addition to finding better lighting choice , there ’s a simpler root for minimizing the energy impact of the sess industry : Growing alfresco is more energy - efficient , but it ’s not legal in Colorado . When other states legalize marijuana cultivation , give up for outdoor growth could help glower the drain , though raiser often opt indoors for higher - book crop yields and twelvemonth - one shot growth . While deregulate where you may mature weed could boost some growers to take crops outdoors and relieve energy , regulate licensing to incentivize growers to use renewable vigour sources will also help offset some of the drain .

[ CityLab|Denver Post ]

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