Presented by Amy Ellsworth of Cadmus at the Rocky Mountain Utility Efficiency Exchange Conference September 2015.

1. Potential EE & DR Opportunities
in Indoor Agriculture Facilities
Amy Ellsworth
Rocky Mountain Utility Efficiency
Exchange Conference
September 30 – October 2, 2015

2. Potential EE & DR Opportunities
In Cannabis Cultivation Facilities (Indoor Ag)
• Colorado Market
• Electricity Use
• Utility/Grower Pain Points
2
• EE & DR Opportunities
• Technologies to watch
• Trends
• Research Needed

3. Colorado Market Snapshot
833 Retail and 1,416
Medical Establishments
148,238 lbs. medical and
retail marijuana sold
4.81 million units edible
products sold
3
Source: CO Dept. of Revenue Marijuana Enforcement Division Annual Update, Feb. 2015.
Between
300,000 and
320,000 plants
on average being
cultivated
throughout 2014

4. 4

5. Colorado Market
Impact per
Pound
Produced
Facility Type
Colorado
Regulated
Market
74 Tons Indoor
2000
kWh/lb
Greenhouse 100 kWh/lb
Outdoor ~Minimal
5
Source: Market size based on CO Dept. of Revenue Marijuana Enforcement Division Annual
Update, Feb. 2015.

6. Electricity Use for Indoor Facility
6
Indoor
cannabis
production
requires
~2,000 kWh
per pound
Source: Impact of Cannabis Production in the Pacific Northwest on Regional
Electricity Loads, Northwest Power Planning Council, Sept 3rd 2014
5%
38%
21%
1%
2%
3%
30%
Space heating
Lighting
AC
Drying
CO2 Injection
Water handling
Venting/dehumidifi
cation

7. Put it another way
7
Between
300,000 and
320,000 plants
on average
cultivated in
Colorado
At 4.7 cycles per
year
Powers 13,000 CO
Homes
15,900 Lamps300,000 Plants
IN 2014 GROW LAMPS HOMES
2.5 plants per
lamp
1,000 watts per
lamp (flowering
phase)
12 hours per lamp
per day
Roughly
111,000,000 kWh
An average home is
CO uses 8,544 kWh
(EIA 2013)

8. Putting it into Perspective
8
U.S.
Electricity
for Cannabis
production is
equivalent to
that of
2 MILLION
average U.S.
homes

9. Indoor Ag Energy Use
Particulars and Perversions
• Exclusion of daylight
• Excessive cooling
• Heat and moisture removal problems
• Odor and noise suppression
• Processing plants into other products
• CO2 production by burning fossil fuel indoors
9
The only sector to have been passed over by four decades of energy efficiency
policy, incentives, and education

10. Utility Pain Points
• Energy
Consumption
• Sudden increases in
localized demand
• Illegal at the Federal
level
• Customer instability
• Pressure from cities
• Clean Power Plan
10

11. Growers’ Pain Points
• Energy cost
• Highly competitive, thin
margins
• Stigmatized and over-
regulated
11
• EE programs, energy service
• Cash flow & financing
• Rapidly changing industry
2015 2025 2035 2045
$0.06
$0.08
$0.10
$0.12
$0.14
2005
$0
$1,250
$2,500
$3,750
$5,000
$6,250
2010 2012 2014 2016 2018

12. Energy Efficiency Opportunities
12
Cost-effective
efficiency
improvements of
more than 75%
are conceivable
- Evan Mills, Ph.D.

13. Its all about spectrum and brightness
• Plants respond to the photo-synthetically active
spectrum (PAR) - the ag community counts this as
“photons” of light
• Cost metric is based on the light seen by plants each
second, summed over a 24-hour period known as
“Daily Light Integral” (DLI).
13
Metal
Halide InductionLEDsPlasmaSunlight High-Press
Sodium

14. And then there’s the cost…
14
$0.53 $0.71
$0.45
$2.01
$2.31
$2.93
$4.83 $4.84
$2.58
$1.79
$2.61
$2.19
$2.49 $2.44
$3.68
$3.16
$0
$1
$2
$3
$4
$5
$6
Upfront
Annual
CostOfLight
($/DLI/sqft.)

15. EE Potential in Colorado
(back of the envelope)
15
Facility Type kWh/lb Estimated
% of
Facilities
Total
Regulated
lbs Produced
Annually
Base kWh
Impact
Annually
Technical
Potential kWh
Savings Annual
(30% of Base)
Market
Potential
Savings kWh
(25% of Tech)
Indoor 2,000 90% 133,414 266,828,400 80,048,520 20,012,130
Greenhouse 100 9% 13,341 1,334,142 Assume zero -
Outdoor Minimal 1% 1,482 - Assume zero -
Total 100% 148,238 268,162,542 80,048,520 20,012,130
Market potential is equal to powering 2,300
Colorado homes a year.

16. DR Opportunities
• Significant potential for load factor improvement
• Vegetative: Lighting - 18 hours on / 6 hours off
• Flowering: Lighting - 12 hours on / 12 hours off
• End uses can be managed with controls systems to minimize
peak load: lighting; HVAC; ventilation; dehumidification; etc.
16

17. Technologies
to watch:
Farm in a
box
17

18. daylight
harvesting
technology
Technologies to watch: Suncast
18
and delivers
it under the
canopy
channels
sunlight through
fiber optics

19. Technologies to watch: Surna Reflector and
Dehumidifier
19

20. 20
Cultivation facilities
are getting larger
Legalization is on the
2016 ballot in 12
states; Medical in 5
states
New
Colorado
Policies
Interstate commerce will
change everything –
Edible and
pharmaceutical products
Trends and Implications Going Forward
• Moving away from requiring owners to operate retail
store AND be a producer.
• Likely to restrict outdoor producers

21. More information is needed…
Comprehensive technical and market research to support
– Baseline energy profile
– EE and DR: analysis of potential, savings, cost
effectiveness,
– Market Factors: barriers, opportunities and
acceptance
21
Can inform program design recommendations for
utility indoor agriculture program(s)

22. Amy Ellsworth
Principal, Energy Services
Amy.Ellsworth@cadmusgroup.com
Office (303) 389-2510
LinkedIn.com/company/the-Cadmus-group
@CadmusGroup
Facebook.com/CadmusGroup