Canndescent completes first commercial scale solar installation
The company is creating a more sustainable growth model it calls greendoor ™, combining renewable solar energy with the water efficiency of indoor growing.
Affirming itself as an industry pioneer, Canndescent ™ has completed the first commercial scale solar project for the cannabis industry, powering its indoor production facility in Desert Hot Springs, CA.
How does it work ?
The 282,6-kilowatt system, which produces renewable energy on-site, uses 734 solar modules on seven different carport structures to power the company's historic cannabis production facility, which also has gained attention in 2016 as the first operation authorized by the Municipality of California. This state-of-the-art clean energy system annually offsets as much carbon as a 175-hectare forest and reduces annual atmospheric carbon emissions by 365 metric tons (according to estimates by NREL and EPA).
As the first cannabis company to power a large-scale indoor grow project with renewable solar energy, Canndescent provides a critical model for sustainability in an industry where outdoor growers tax water resources and indoor growers and lightweight consume about 1% of the electricity produced in the United States. The project currently produces enough power to charge around 20% of US smartphones for a day and highlights a potential pathway to separate agriculture from its many negative environmental impacts. Growing indoors using solar energy, the project combines crop yields and water efficiency associated with hydroponics interior and energy efficiency of other forms of cultivation.
Greendoor ™
Historically, the industry has chosen between Indoor, Outdoor or greenhouse. With this unique solar project, the company is creating a fourth choice, the Greendoor™, which brings together water efficiency, energy efficiency and pesticide-free cultivation in an indoor format.
Besides breaking through traditional barriers of cultivation, the solar-powered cannabis installation presents itself as an iconoclast of politics. It aligns the progressive themes of alternative energy and alternative medicine with the conservative theme of private enterprise, creating social impact in an area of opportunity. The company has invested $ 3,75 million to renovate its 1000 m2 warehouse for the production of cannabis and solar power and produces around 4.5 tonnes of boutique cannabis in a city where 34% of the population lives below the threshold. of poverty. Scott Matas, Mayor of Desert Hot Springs, said, “Since its inception, Canndescent has enabled our community to contribute $ 500 in local cannabis taxes and create 000 jobs. Adding renewable energy to what was the first growing project to open in the Coachella Valley, Canndescent continues to light the way forward for others. "
We commissioned the solar project because the modern consumer deserves and demands that we create exceptional products using exceptional practices. As an industry that is maturing at this time, it is natural and fitting that the cannabis industry and Canndescent are leaders in the business world in addressing some of the world's most pressing challenges.
Already beyond the California Energy Commission requirement for new non-residential buildings to have a solar roof by 2023, Canndescent built the project in 8 weeks after a two-year struggle to gain approval and the financing of the project. Tom DiGiovanni, Chief Compliance Officer of Canndescent, said: “Given the restrictions on banking and lending in the cannabis industry, the complexity of energy projects and civil construction in California in general, this has been extremely difficult to achieve. Nonetheless, we have done it and we have established a model for the green industry to become greener. "
To accelerate the adoption of solar energy and Greendoor's practices, Canndescent will publish a white paper sharing its solar project plans as an open source. The company has also posted a video of the project and has a site visit scheduled for Monday, March 18, 2019.
About Canndescent
Canndescent empowers adults to transform their lives with ultra-premium cannabis products. In 2015, Canndescent became the first cannabis grower in the world to abandon traditional strain names and sell their flowers under the names Calm, Cruise, Create, Connect, and Charge. In 2016, the company opened the first city-licensed facility in California, in 2017 Canndescent became the # 2018 selling flower brand in California, and in XNUMX, the company became the # XNUMX floral product brand in California. luxury of the state. Consumers can buy products Canndescent in leading dispensaries and delivery services in California.
