The Industry’s Energy Problem
As legalization proliferates across the United States, the cannabis industry’s rapid growth is forcing a reckoning with its environmental impact and how to reduce the resource consumption and waste that accompany commercial operations and products. Of particular concern to environmentalists and industry veterans is how to better manage the energy use required by cultivation facilities. According to some experts, the industry already accounts for more than 1 percent of all U.S. electricity consumption, and that percentage continues to rise as the industry expands. The challenge of energy overconsumption is very real and can be attributed, at least partially, to the disjointed nature of the U.S. industry, where federal law prohibits interstate commerce. This means the plant must be grown not only in hospitable climates, but also in areas with unfavorable growing conditions. As a result, indoor cultivation has become the norm. Currently, 80 percent of cannabis from legal U.S. markets is...