Your incentive payment amount will depend on a variety of factors, including state, utility, project details, etc. To give you an example, a recent client captured a rebate worth over $625,000 for an LED retrofit project. We also work with growers on their incentives worth just $10,000 – or less.
You can see a few of our case studies here and here.
Get in touch with us so that we can review your project and let you know what you may be able to get. so we can assist you with the application process and maximize your incentive opportunity.
Even within a state, incentive programs vary by utility. That said, some of the best utility incentive programs are in the Northeast. Connecticut growers can expect to receive $0.40 per kWh saved in Year 1, or up to 95% of the incremental cost. Maine has many great programs as well, where growers can expect to see $0.28 per kWh saved, or up to 75% of the incremental cost. Other notable states with high-value incentive programs include New York, Maryland, New Jersey, and Massachusetts.
When a utility energy efficiency program refers to “incremental cost”, they mean the difference in cost between an inefficient piece of equipment compared against a more efficient but more expensive version.
For example, let’s say that an inefficient High Pressure Sodium fixture costs $300, and that an efficient LED fixture costs $1,000. The incremental cost for the upgrade is $700.
We work on a success fee basis, receiving a percentage of the total incentive value the utility sends. So the better you do the better we do. Our fees are competitive and pay for themselves in time you save by and the often larger incentives we are able to get you. Aside from a small deposit we ask to secure a commitment, we won’t take a penny until the utility submits their incentive payment.
1. Select your project (make, model, quantities of equipment)
2. If you work with us, we develop your application, based on your equipment selection, operating assumptions and interactive effects with other equipment in the space
3. Submit application
4. Utility reviews the application
5. Utility issues pre-approval
6. You purchase and install your equipment
7. Utility inspects equipment install and invoice for consistency with the application and Terms and Conditions
8. Upon satisfactory inspection, utility cuts check
9. Applicant and CRG settle on balance of fee, if applicable
9. Everyone goes home happy
Utility energy efficiency programs generally come in two flavors: custom and prescriptive. Until very recently, nearly all cannabis projects had to go through custom programs.
Prescriptive programs offer fixed-price incentives for a predefined list of “off-the-shelf,” widely available measures, such as lighting, heat pumps, boilers & furnaces, VFDs for HVAC equipment, etc.
Custom programs are for relatively uncommon technologies or industry applications, which is often the case for technologies in use in cannabis cultivation.
The only sure way to know what programs are available to you is by getting in touch with your utility. There are also professional energy firms, such as Climate Resources Group, who can assist you in navigating these murky waters.
Although we do not recommend any specific lights, we do encourage you to purchase equipment listed on the Design Lights Consortium (DLC) Qualified Products Lists (QPLs). The DLC QPLs contain verified, high performing solid-state lighting, horticultural LEDs, and control systems that save energy. Furthermore, many utilities require equipment to be listed on the DLC QPLs in order for it to be eligible for incentives.
Enlighten Your Grow is a program of Climate Resources Group. At Enlighten Your Grow, we enable indoor cultivators to be more profitable by offering solutions for reducing their facilities’ energy and environmental footprint.
Set up a call anytime with the Enlighten Your Grow team to learn more about how we can help you access these incentives for your grow operation projects.
It depends on what utility energy efficiency program you are applying to, how complex your project is, when you complete your project, and how much monitoring and verification (M&V) the program evaluator requires.
In almost all cases, you will get your incentive no earlier than 3-4 weeks after the utility inspects your installation to their satisfaction.