It takes a lot of energy to grow cannabis. Fans and lighting systems in many grow houses operate 24 hours a day. Pacific Power in Portland experienced seven blackouts in 2016, all of which were traced back to cannabis production facilities the summer after Oregon legalized recreational marijuana. In fact, growing cannabis uses about one percent of the total energy in the U.S.
Energy is a big deal in cannabis, with huge grow operations in need of lights, fans, and monitoring equipment, leading many companies to develop personalized, strategic power systems for their operations. CleanSpark is just one company attempting to alleviate the energy strain in the cannabis industry. By providing energy software and control technology, CleanSpark helps growers obtain resiliency and economic optimization. Their software allows a microgrid to be scaled to a user’s specific needs.
Recently, CleanSpark was chosen to conduct a project feasibility study to Good Energy Solar for the creation of an independent and comprehensive power system for TMP Unlimited, Inc., a cannabis cultivation, manufacturing, distribution, and retail dispensary company located in California.
“We will apply our advanced energy systems expertise to scope and design a sustainable, affordable, and reliable power system that meets expected demand for this customer in a greenfield space,” Zach Bradford, president of CleanSpark, said in a press release. Because of the remote location of TMP’s planned operations, local utility companies have not been able to commit to providing power to the facility.
Enter CleanSpark. “This contract is to leverage CleanSparks mVSO (microgrid Value Stream Optimizer) software tool and data analytics experience to establish the best resource mix for their off-grid location,” explained a representative from CleanSpark. With clean, consistent power being of the utmost importance in the cannabis industry, it’s likely that more facilities, remote or not, develop strategic energy plans to ensure consistent power.
