City regs to make dispensaries more eco-friendly

By Katherine Creel

The medical marijuana industry has been getting a lot of legislative attention lately, from recently signed laws at the state level to city ordinances restricting everything from building size and location to who can even own a dispensary.

On May 18, the Boulder City Council passed a particularly eco-friendly ordinance that will require dispensaries that grow their own supply to offset 100 percent of their energy usage with renewable energy, either by purchasing solar or wind power from Xcel, producing their own renewable energy or being part of a community “solar garden.”

Considering how energy intensive the growing process is, that will mean a lot of solar and wind power being purchased. Just how much? An experienced local grower breaks down the numbers for us.

During the vegetation cycle of growing, which lasts anywhere from a week to several months, 600- to 1,000-watt lights remain on up to 18 hours each day. During the blooming stage, which typically lasts eight weeks, the lights generally run for 12 hours at the same wattage.

A 1,000-watt bulb uses 1000 watts (or one kilowatt) per hour, which means that two bulbs run for 18 hours each day for a month would consume 1,080 kilowatt hours (kWh) of energy. Compare that to the monthly consumption of the average Colorado household: 679 kWh, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

With those levels of energy consumption, it’s no wonder cities are working to make medical marijuana one of the greenest industries around.

Charles Ferro, land use review manager for the City of Boulder, says this ordinance was in reaction to learning about the intense energy demands of the industry.

“Surprisingly, we haven’t had any pushback from the industry on this,” he says. “It’s very much in line with the sensibilities of the people of Boulder.”

After all, what’s the point of having a healthy body if you don’t have a healthy world to live in?

Respond: info@boulderganic.com

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