As laws are being passed in more and more states in America to legalise cannabis sales, there is a growing movement to make sure that cannabis growers cease wasting so much electricity.
One of the first movers on this is the mid-western state of Colorado. It is known as much for its range of independent breweries as for encouraging potheads.
So Democratic governor Jared Polis has just unveiled two pilot programmes aimed at helping both cannabis cultivators and craft brewers operate more sustainably
One of the pilots will test a closed-loop system where Denver Beer Co. will recapture, sell, and deliver its CO2 by-product to The Clinic marijuana dispensaries.
A second will bring “local electric cooperatives and municipal utilities” together to “provide eligible cannabis cultivation businesses with no-cost technical energy use assessments”.
“These pilot programmes combine a few of the things that Colorado is known for: environmental responsibility, craft beer, and cannabis,” argues Governor Polis. Who am I to argue with him?