Microgrids for the Cannabis Industry: Solving the Energy Hog Problem

Marijuana's challenge that utility companies and major corporations can't fix

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Feb 22, 2017, 07:12 ET

NEW YORK, Feb. 22, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Scale Energy Solutions (www.scaleenergysolutions.com), a leader in providing alternative energy sources to the indoor cannabis cultivation market, unveiled solutions to fill a gap that utility companies and major corporations can't fix.

Scale Energy Solutions develops hybrid microgrids, combining solar, storage and combined heat and power (CHP), to lower the gluttonous energy consumption of indoor cannabis cultivation.

"In Colorado, the biggest utility ran into some struggles with the load growth," Tim Hade co-founder and COO of Scale Energy said in Microgrid Knowledge. "Interestingly, the traditional way a utility deals with problems like this is to call the DOE."

However, due to marijuana's federal classification, the Department of Energy (DOE) can't help the utilities, he noted. "And big companies like GE and Caterpillar won't get involved in this because they are tied up in federal procurement contracts."

Scale Energy has several projects in development ranging in size from 250 kW to 1.5 MW, for cannabis operations as large as 1 million square feet.

"Cannabis growing operations would likely see energy costs drop 20 to 25 percent with our microgrids," Hade said. "Operators can also tap into their own power during an outage. That's critical because crops will suffer without power for heat, air conditioning, lights and other vital controls."

Growers are using so much energy, outages have occurred around Denver and Portland, prompting a flood of calls to Scale Energy. "Fortunately there is a high demand for our services, as growers want reliable, cost-reducing energy sources," he said. "Unfortunately, there are still many growers that don't realize that they can significantly lower their overhead by reducing energy costs with systems that virtually pay for themselves."

Scale Energy offers operating leases and power purchase agreements with performance guarantees, to make the installation of a microgrid a simple economic decision.

For information on Scale Energy Solutions, call 720-890-7344, or visit: www.scaleenergysolutions.com

About Scale Microgrid Solutions:

Scale Microgrid Solutions develops alternative energy systems for the indoor agriculture sector, to help companies reduce costs, bolster reliability, and improve environmental impact along with profit margins. They have been featured in numerous media reports, including newspapers, magazines, radio interviews, and technical publications.

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SOURCE Scale Energy Solutions