Green Cannabis Cultivation Reduces Emissions, Energy Costs
Freedom Cannabis Builds Canada’s Largest Rooftop Solar Panel Array – LPC
Can “green cannabis” cultivation become a reality? Edmonton’s Freedom Cannabis is taking a step in the right direction. It recently unveiled a mega solar project to help reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions – and reduce its energy costs. The panels were built and installed by Enmax, a Calgary-based energy company that works in both traditional and renewable energy sources.
“It’s more important than ever for businesses to manage their energy footprint,” said Jason Atkinson, director at Enmax. Green cannabis cultivation techniques can have a significant impact on energy-intensive operations. “Solar is an important part of that solution.”
The Freedom Cannabis 1,830-kilowatt array consists of 4,574 solar panels mounted on the facility’s roof. Troy Dezwart, co-founder of Freedom Cannabis, said the solar array will offset energy usage by up to 10 per cent. That amounts to $200,000 to $300,000 per year. In terms of green cannabis cultivation, that represents 1,000 of GHG emissions annually.
“We’re fortunate enough to be able to have these types of options and pursue them,” said Dezwart.
Green cannabis cultivation doesn’t come cheap – and in Alberta, it just got more expensive. The Freedom Cannabis system reportedly cost $2.6 million to build with almost $1 million coming from a provincial rebate program. That program has since been cancelled by the provincial government.
Green Cannabis Cultivation Takes Many Forms – LPC
As cannabis investor optimism declines, companies will be forced to take a serious look at cutting costs. Green cannabis cultivation is one way to do that.
The ultimate is growing outdoors. Alefia was the first to announce an outdoor operation in Canada. Many industry analysts saw this as the first of an inevitable string given the “race to the bottom” in price and oversupply. (Those predictions are turning out to be somewhat true. When Aphria announced it had doubled its cannabis production, that level of production was needed. Analysts recently found indications that Aurora had dumped $20 million in cannabis supply.
In BC, most cannabis co-ops planned to grow outside. Not only is it a green cannabis cultivation solution, but it also reduces costs for those with micro-cultivation licences.
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