09Oct 2020 by admin
Efficiency Maine Lights Up for Cannabis

Efficiency Maine Lights Up for Cannabis

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Maine cannabis businesses can now access Efficiency Maine energy efficiency incentives for the installation of energy equipment, such as LED lights, advanced HVAC systems, lighting and environmental controls, and even energy-efficient power generation. After years of notoriety of being the only state in the country to disallow energy efficiency funds for cannabis enterprises, the Efficiency Maine Trust Board voted on Wednesday, October 7, 2020 to give a green light to businesses lawfully engaged in Maine’s cannabis industry to use their programs. Read more on our Efficiency Maine rebate page here.
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10Jul 2019 by admin
Massachusetts Pitches Revisions to Cannabis Energy Regulations

Massachusetts Pitches Revisions to Cannabis Energy Regulations

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Earlier this month, the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission published their draft adult use rules (935 CMR 500.000) and draft medical use rules (935 CMR 501.000). There are a few potential energy-related game-changers, whose implications are uncertain, so if you’re motivated please review and comment. The CCC will hear comments until 5:00 p.m. ET on August 15, 2019 via email (CannabisCommission@State.MA.US; subject = “Draft Regulations:Adult Use of Marijuana” or “Draft Regulations: Medical Use of Marijuana”) or snail mail (Cannabis Control Commission, 101 Federal Street, 13th Floor, Boston, MA 02110; Attention: Public Comments). CCC will also hold two public hearings: August 14, 2019, 10:00 a.m. ET at the Health Policy Commission at 50 Milk Street, 8th Floor Boston, MA 02109August 15, 2019, 10:00 a.m. ET at Western New England University School of…
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29Jan 2019 by admin
Planting Season for Controlled Environment Agriculture

Planting Season for Controlled Environment Agriculture

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Last fall I had the pleasure of attending the Cannabis Sustainability Symposium in Denver, Colorado. This now-annual event brought together cultivators, equipment manufacturers, energy and waste specialists and others with an interest in reducing the industry’s energy and carbon footprint. Together, we addressed many of the current issues cannabis cultivators are facing, from how to optimize facilities for energy and water use, how to manage solid waste in an environmentally safe way while complying with strict state laws and regulations, and how to bring technical and business model innovation to the industry. While ostensibly the event was designed by and for cannabis stakeholders, after participating in the multiple sessions, over conversations with industry leaders and during moments of quiet contemplation, I came away with the impression that we’re on the…
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14Sep 2018 by admin
Energy and Environment Working Group comments

Energy and Environment Working Group comments

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Climate Resources Group was a proud signatory to the comments below to the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission Energy and Environment Working Group today. *** Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission101 Federal Street, 13th floorBoston, MA 02110 Submitted via email: CannabisCommission@State.MA.US September 14, 2018 Dear Cannabis Control Commission, Thank you for the opportunity to provide comment to the Energy and Environment Working Group (EEWG). On September 11, 2018, Resource Innovation Institute, in partnership with Climate Resources Group, convened a Cannabis Energy Roundtable with stakeholders in the cannabis industry and those who provide services to them. This work is funded by a Massachusetts-based foundation, E4TheFuture. The discussion among cannabis operators, construction professionals, technology manufacturers, utilities and energy policy experts yielded mutually agreeable issues of interest for the EEWG’s consideration, described below. Over the course…
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01Mar 2018 by admin
Massachusetts Appproves Energy Regulations for Cannabis Cultivation. What are the Implications?

Massachusetts Appproves Energy Regulations for Cannabis Cultivation. What are the Implications?

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In its final day of deliberations after a wide-ranging nearly 6-month regulation-development process, the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) just raised the bar on cannabis cultivation in the state. Steven Hoffman, Chairman of the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission In short, the Commission agreed to include all of the recommendations of the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. If these recommendations are included in final regulations due to be filed by March 15, Massachusetts will arguably have the greenest cannabis industry in the country. What are these regs, and why should we care? A lighting power density (LPD) standard of no more than 36 W per square foot of canopy for a cultivation facility with over 5,000 ft² of canopy. For smaller facilities, the commission establishes a LPD standard…
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15Mar 2017 by admin
Can New England Innovation Make Cannabis Greener?

Can New England Innovation Make Cannabis Greener?

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As I sat in a jam-packed conference room at last week’s NESEA BuildingEnergy Boston conference to learn about the energy consumption profile by commercial-scale cannabis production (a.k.a. the “Cannabis Cultivation Conundrum”), I was struck by three major themes. First, cannabis cultivation can be enormously energy intensive, and legal demand for marijuana in our region will very likely be driving up energy and water use. Every state in New England now permits marijuana consumption for medicinal purposes, and voters in both Massachusetts and Maine recently passed ballot referendums legalizing recreational use as well. Medicinal growers can produce in all states save Connecticut, and large-scale commercial growers are already preparing to set up shop across the region, particularly in Massachusetts where legal recreational use is imminent, pending regulatory fixes by legislators. At…
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