New Jersey is yet another state expanding public access to cannabis for medical purposes and is poised to legalize access for recreational use. This means energy service providers and public utilities will need to address the energy-intensive process of growing cannabis in a state with some of the highest energy costs in the nation.
New Jersey, like Massachusetts and other states before it, will need to anticipate and respond to the new energy demand. Opportunities to meet the needs of this new energy-hungry industry may come from private sector cost-cutting, such as on-site renewables and energy-efficient equipment alternatives, and through public policy directives, incentives, and in some cases mandates.
In his influential 2011 report, “The Carbon Footprint of Indoor Cannabis Production”, Evan Mills, PhD, estimated that the energy demands of the cannabis industry equal or exceed those of data centers and hospitals, both energy mega-consumers. Recent studies from states that led in legalizing recreational cannabis, including Colorado, Washington, and Oregon, confirm that indoor cannabis production significantly increases energy demand even in urban areas with relatively developed infrastructures. The 2016 EQ Research study, “A Chronic Problem: Taming Energy Costs and Impacts from Marijuana Cultivation,” reports that grow facilities accounted for about 0.4% of Colorado’s 2014 total electric usage. Recent data indicates that operations account for 4% of Denver’s total electricity usage and growers’ energy demand is increasing more rapidly than that of any other customer group.