Distributed power generation and commercial cannabis cultivation

[Bubbagineer]

yeah what would you do with 2 tons of weed every 3 months? i know i damn sure couldn't move it..especially if you are planning to keep it all in-state. afaik colorado's demand isn't higher than the supply, and to compete you'd have to be producing high-quality herb.

this is cool stuff to play around with though. if i had the knowledge you do then i'm sure i'd find myself doing the same thing. who knows..maybe one day you'll work out enough kinks to make this realistic.

seriously though, have you put any thought into how you would move such a large amount of product?definitely not! continue on, please!

Thanks for the thoughts. Truly, I don't think it would be an issue moving it. Priced right, and you would be able to do that with this kind of scale, I think it would move itself. While I haven't been bending you all's ears on this subject, I have been keeping up with the bureaucrats' estimates on weed demand. I saw a study a month back that was significantly higher than the one I did in this thread. I will post a link later... Matter of fact, each time I've seen an estimate come out, and there have been a couple by different outfits, it has been successively greater. Think about it, nobody's going to Holland anymore, they're coming here not to mention every skier in the world that has ever been stoned is coming here sooner or later lol.... warms my heart

 

[CCCmints]

i'll be waiting on those links then. i'm surprised you are confident in moving that much product but you seem to have researched pretty extensively.

 

[Bubbagineer]

I said it was from a month ago, but it was April lol.... I'm a Stoner, give me a break I'm pretty sure I read an article recently with higher numbers....

Ok, here you go. This study calls for the recreational demand to be as follows:
642,772 recreational users x 3.5 oz/yr = 2,268,985 oz / 16 = 140,437#/yr = 70 tons per year
And btw, this study takes specific caveats to the effects of pot tourism and the behavior of weed consumers ( I.e. If you can buy it at 7-11 you will buy more.... plain truth).... so the results are conservative as fuck IMO, but even so my setup would only capture 10% of the market.


https://webcom.colostate.edu/coloradofutures/files/2013/04/CFC-Amendment-64-Study-final2.pdf

 

[CCCmints]

I said it was from a month ago, but it was April lol.... I'm a Stoner, give me a break I'm pretty sure I read an article recently with higher numbers....

Ok, here you go. This study calls for the recreational demand to be as follows:
642,772 recreational users x 3.5 oz/yr = 2,268,985 oz / 16 = 140,437#/yr = 70 tons per year
And btw, this study takes specific caveats to the effects of pot tourism and the behavior of weed consumers ( I.e. If you can buy it at 7-11 you will buy more.... plain truth).... so the results are conservative as fuck IMO, but even so my setup would only capture 10% of the market.


https://webcom.colostate.edu/coloradofutures/files/2013/04/CFC-Amendment-64-Study-final2.pdf

damn thats alotta weed! 10% of the market is a hefty little chunk, but not as big as i thought.

i encourage you to put more thought into moving your product though. you can't expect 10% of the market to "move itself" - gonna take work on your end!

 

[Bubbagineer]

damn thats alotta weed! 10% of the market is a hefty little chunk, but not as big as i thought.

i encourage you to put more thought into moving your product though. you can't expect 10% of the market to "move itself" - gonna take work on your end!

You are entirely correct, but that ain't my department... no offense. I figure if you can produce for 10-15% less than others, You could afford to hire some foot power marketing, since that's about all the adverts that will be allowed. Canvas neighborhoods with the proper young demographic.... I really think we will all be astounded at the true size of the market. I'll go on a limb and say the estimate is only 1/2 enough.... you know weed tourism is going to be huge and they aren't even counting it lol. As far as quality... Just because you do something efficiently doesn't necessarily mean you will have a poor quality product. I would grow all soil organic.... It would still be pretty cheap.

again, I ain't doing this or promoting it... just sayin

 

[CCCmints]

You are entirely correct, but that ain't my department... no offense. I figure if you can produce for 10-15% less than others, You could afford to hire some foot power marketing, since that's about all the adverts that will be allowed. Canvas neighborhoods with the proper young demographic.... I really think we will all be astounded at the true size of the market. I'll go on a limb and say the estimate is only 1/2 enough.... you know weed tourism is going to be huge and they aren't even counting it lol. As far as quality... Just because you do something efficiently doesn't necessarily mean you will have a poor quality product. I would grow all soil organic.... It would still be pretty cheap.

again, I ain't doing this or promoting it... just sayin

no offense taken, you are correct. what you're saying makes complete sense. i hadn't realized this idea was capable of producing at such a low cost. if you've got the fire, and a lot of it, then i'm sure you would be able to move your product!

oh yeah, lmao. i honestly forget you weren't serious about doing this. goes to show how realistic your planning sounds.

 

[Bubbagineer]

Sorry to be Dr. Doom to the folks that were hoping for legal mj to stay a cottage industry...... I just read this in the Huff post. The largest commercial tomato grow op that I know of uses the exhaust heat from smallish (5 to 20 MW I think) gas turbine generator sets. Also saw where a grower in Canada is trying to rent a closed chocolate factory to grow in... people are thinking big

Colorado marijuana businesses are scooping up grads from top agricultural schools. In fact, many of the newest, state-of-the-art hydroponic grow facilities are designed off of industrial indoor tomato farms.

 

[Bertha79]

Natural gas. These units came from europe. A big cogen company out there decided usa was a good place to head next. The ones that we installed only produce 160kw an hour but are pretty small units and the campus cannot use any higher.
I was looking at that unit. It seems like a good idea. And it also looks like you can have a heat exchanger to heat up a domestic water or some other options.
Only problem I see is is that nowhere do I see any specs on electrical output?
How many kw/h does the unit you may use pump out? How big is the space and what is the electrical demand of the space?

We used Solar, Caterpillar, recips along with Gas Turbines Allison 501KB5. From simple peak shaving to cogeneration combined cycle. The hot water is generated via shell/tube heat exchangers along with incorporating the use of offering A/C with a typical condenser. Ive been thinking about how many grow-ops have put in their own generation plants. CA would be a great location as during summer months the grid would take all unused at prices that got so crazy back in 2000 we were naming out price per kwhr.

We also have generated using Cats 3516 self enclosed genset on landfill putting a vacuum on the existing fields HDPE or installing out own well-head and main pipeline to the facility. ComEd purchased all electricity in lieu of burning it.

I used to run analysis for hundreds of companies in IL. Built one in Eagle/Gypsum CO to generate the brand new drywall plant off hwy 70. We had two Gas turbines and they took the het off our turbines ducted right into their drier lines to dry the sheets and the power ran the entire site. Also built for entenmann Bakery where they took the hot water to clean all mixing bowls.

So what companies are building them for these grow -ops now?

TEI out of Florida, a shoot off of the company I worked for would be able to install any size and needed. If any grow-ops are serious about learning more, let me know. I was in the business for 15 years and would be able to helps out. I know for any indoor plants, there would be significant cost saving. If you could locate a facility near a landfill, that would be a gold mine with lost free gas via our little methane creating friends. Cat actually makes a pack just for this application with everything needed after the knock-out tank.

beachstrolling at gmail can reach me.

 

[Bubbagineer]

So what companies are building them for these grow -ops now?

Sorry, I don't know. I suspect they will probably just try to install an off the shelf solution without going out and getting the right outfit, but I haven't heard of any bids being let out.

If you could locate a facility near a landfill, that would be a gold mine with lost free gas via our little methane creating friends. Cat actually makes a pack just for this application with everything needed after the knock-out tank.

Thats an exceptionally good idea. I've felt that there would be advertising mileage that you could get from this concept - something like being "green" since you generate from a "clean" fuel rather than buying power generated by coal. I've seen small turbines that burn the gases at waste water treatment facilities (poop fumes).... However, if you literally were burning garbage fumes, every bureaucracy you could imagine would get in line to stamp you permits. Very nice lol. I don't know about the methane off a landfill, but the poop gas in a waste water treatment facility is loaded with nasty stuff that corrodes and gums up the works.

 

[SnapsProvolone]

Two downsides

High cost of ownership will diminish return on investment.

Commercial growers aren't in power production business.

Natural gas isn't free.

I see commercial growers using massive greenhouse complexes like one being built down in pueblo county.

 

[6ohMax]

Can I be the Generator Tech? I have 13 yrs 11 months of experience in the Army. HEHE

 

[Bubbagineer]

ok, you seem to be fully informed, my humble rejoinder:

High cost of ownership will diminish return on investment.

Fair enough, but I bet you 10:1 owners will get relief on tax deductions for capital purchases within the next year from congress. If so, your argument is moot as every time you pay your power bill, you are paying the cost of ownership to the utility as well as a hefty surcharge or "tax" for the utility's costs trying to comply with the clean air / clean jobs act which gets passed on to consumers.... plus a markup lol. You would not be subject to the renewable power requirement cost structure that the regulated utility is.

Commercial growers aren't in power production business.

We can't always choose where our efficiency comes from. Tomato growers are not typically power producers either, but that didn't stop them from putting in their large greenhouse installations with supplemental HID lighting and heat/power provided by natural gas turbine gensets. I bet they'd rather just grow tomatoes too, but by using that model they can dominate the vine ripened tomato market on an area due to reduced cost.

Natural gas isn't free.

Amen, nothing is. However, it is very cheap and will stay cheap for a long time due to production capacities.

I see commercial growers using massive greenhouse complexes like one being built down in pueblo county.

Did you read the thread bro? Please tell me I didn't just step in troll poo.