ENERGY SOLUTIONS FOR THE CANNABIS INDUSTRY

Cannabis Energy Audit Services

For Licensed Producers (“LP”) of Cannabis in Canada, electricity is a big issue.  The cost of electricity has consistently and continually rising.  The need for control in this area is clear.  Where do you start?  The first step is to enlist an independent energy consultant.  The independence is key to getting a realistic list of energy efficiency opportunities that are not tied to any company products.  The consultant should understand the financial implications of implementing a solution including a total or life cycle benefit analysis. Remember, you still need to operate and maintain the solution after it is implemented.  Those costs need to be included in any business case.

The first step to lower energy costs is understanding your energy spend and then determining where you can improve.   An Energy Audit is a key tool that business and / or property owners use to better understand their building(s).  They provide an in-depth review of how a building consumes energy and offer plans for how that consumption can be reduced.

Key components of an energy audit include:

  • Utility modelling: Two years worth of utility bills (electricity, natural gas and water typically) are used to create a model of the building that reflects its actual use over that same period. This will be used as a reference point for further analysis (see below)

  • Facility survey: A full building survey would catalogue all the equipment and processes that contribute to your monthly utility bill. Photos, make, model and a serial number of equipment should be documented. More thorough surveys would provide the Owner with equipment age and remaining useful life.

  • Energy Conservation Measures (“ECM”): These are the recommended projects/retrofits that should be implemented at the facility. They will provide estimates on the project cost, the expected savings and list financial metrics (ex: simple payback or internal rate of return) so that the reader can get a sense of which measures to implement first.

  • System schematics: Technical illustrations of the processes and systems found in the building;

  • Next steps: outline of the work that should be undertaken set to a simple schedule.

The SaveOnEnergy program in Ontario currently offers Building Owners with a 50% rebate on the cost of an energy audit if it's completed by an approved Consulting firm. ORTECH and our partners will not stop there, we will endeavor to undercover any incentive program that is applicable.  These may include the Local Distribution Company, GreenON (incentives available from the Ontario Cap and Trade proceeds, in development), Gas utilities, municipalities, and other Independent Electricity System Operator programs that are not covered under the SaveOnEnergy programs. 

ORTECH’s partner in this area is our sister division, EEI.  EEI has performed Energy Audits for LPs in the past and assists with energy efficiency projects for greenhouses and other agricultural operations.  They have provided an end to end solution mix to help their clients including design and audit work on over 3,250 facilities covering 370M ft² of space.  EEI’s work is predicated on savings, utility bill savings.  The reason EEI has worked on 3,250 facilities is their ability to show savings after implementation.  This proves the projects are effective in reducing costs, thus, our clients want to find other areas of savings. Their experience across multiple sectors, types of buildings and sizes of buildings will be invaluable to LPs across Ontario and Canada.

If you are interested in a review of your current energy costs and usage, please reach out to our team.

For more information, please use the contact form below.