File this one under unintended consequences. As Bloomberg News reported Monday, the United States’ burgeoning marijuana industry consumes so much power that it is taxing the electric infrastructure. And with that, it is leading to higher levels of pollution and greenhouse gases.
Bloomberg characterized the nation’s $3.5 billion pot trade as “one of the nation’s most power-hungry industries.” That comes from growing marijuana indoors in controlled climates meant to maximize production. Huge grow lights mimic the sun, but also generate so much heat that air conditioning and fans are required. Dehumidifiers help prevent mold.
A Denver grower who talked to Bloomberg reported paying $5,000 per month for electricity to power his 3,000-square-foot facility. Some larger operations reportedly have $1 million monthly power bills. Typically, the electric bill for a grow operation works out to about half of the business’s overhead.
That can take a toll on the local grid. As a consultant from Austin, Texas, who works with utilities and growers put it, “We have utilities in the Northwest putting in new transformer substations to meet the load.”
A scientist from California’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Evan Mills, found that indoor production of medical marijuana in the Golden State used enough electricity to power 1 million homes.
That comports with Colorado’s experience. In 2014, its more than 1,200 licensed grow facilities used as much electricity as 35,000 homes – half of all new demand.
Given how much electricity is generated by burning coal, that also translates to more emissions of greenhouse gases. That at a time when the Environmental Protection Agency is trying to cut emissions from coal-fired plants and the world is trying to comply with the Paris climate accord.
“Consumers seeking a green lifestyle are likely unaware that their cannabis use could cancel out their otherwise low-carbon footprint,” Mills said.
Some communities have reacted by taxing growers. Arcata, in Northern California’s pot-rich Humboldt County, enacted an “excessive energy tax” and is taking in $300,000 per year. Voters approved the tax in 2012 after police and fire departments were spending a fifth of their time responding to calls from grow operations.
In Colorado, Boulder County commissioners adopted an energy-usage fee when they found a 5,000-square-foot facility used 29,000 kilowatt-hours in a month. The county’s sustainability officer figured that to be five times what typical commercial use would involve. And it and puts tons of carbon dioxide into the air every month.
Whether moves like those will help cut power use and emissions remains to be seen. As the industry matures it is also possible that better, cleaner methods could be developed.
At the same time, The Associated Press reported Monday that Oklahoma and Nebraska are going forward seeking the Supreme Court’s permission to sue Colorado to block its legalization of marijuana. Who knows where that will lead?
For now, it is enough to consider that what Sir Paul McCartney once called a “silly little giggle” is more complicated than anyone thought.
