Renewable systems being developed for medical marijuana growers
by Cleantech Canada Staff
NovoFuel, Genport teaming up to develop industry-specific off-grid renewable energy systems
PHILADELPHIA—The medical marijuana industry is going green.
As licenced cannabis cultivation continues to expand in Canada and the United States, a pair of firms are teaming up to develop renewable energy solutions for growers in both countries.
NovoFuel, Inc. and Italian clean tech firm Genport, srl are together developing a range of renewable energy systems designed specifically for use by medical marijuana producers.
According to NovoFuel, the companies have selected a medical marijuana grow operation in Michigan—one of 21 U.S. states to legalize medical marijuana—and and plan to use microgrid modeling tools to determine the optimal configuration of off-grid renewable energy systems for cannabis cultivation, supplementing and reducing the reliance on local grid power.
The Michigan operation will see the team test a host of renewable technologies, including wind and solar power systems, hydrogen fuel cells, large format lithium-ion batteries, and a real-time microgrid management and control system.
The goal is to build a cost-effective configuration of renewable components customized for the Michigan operation that can be used as a “plug-and-play” pilot that can be adapted for use in other locations.
NovoFuel said the approach is also ideal for farming, where the required power and energy can be provided totally off-grid, with a “greatly reduced” life-cycle cost over a 20-year period.
