By Guy Page
Indoor marijuana cultivation is among the most energy-intensive operations. To assist legal cultivators reduce consumption, the state’s energy utility has set aside $1 million in rebates for marijuana growers.
Efficiency Vermont, the state’s energy-saving utility that assesses monthly fees on utility bills, has been publicizing the need for marijuana growers to conserve electricity since at least 2019, when it urged growers to adopt industry-standard low-energy lighting to grow indoor plants.
“Since Colorado legalized recreational marijuana in 2012, indoor cannabis growing has accounted for about four percent of electricity demand in Denver alone. Following legalization in Portland, Oregon, seven power outages in six months were attributed to indoor pot cultivation. Whether home-based or on a large commercial scale, indoor growing is energy intensive,” Efficiency Vermont wrote in April, 2019.
Not only do commercial growers employ energy-intensive lighting, many actually run carbon-dioxide-emitting machines to enrich the atmosphere for the CO2-eating plants. When opponents of marijuana legalization pointed out the large carbon footprint of marijuana cultivation, otherwise climate-conscious legislators seemed unconcerned. “We can absorb that,” said one state senator also calling for Vermont to go to war against carbon emissions.
Seven Days, a statewide weekly newspaper, reported last week that Efficiency Vermont now is doing more than advising – it’s bankrolling $1 million of cannabis cultivation rebates for relatively low-energy lighting using money mostly sourced from ratepayers (avg. household efficiency fee of about $6.65/month).
For the full scoop, read Seven Days reporter Kevin Kevin McCallum’s excellent news story here.
Categories: Environment
This just confirms my thought that the ‘leaders’ in Montpelier have no clue and have no respect for the taxpayers/ratepayers of Vermont. They seem to be dedicated to making Vermont THE most expensive place to live. I suppose their thinking is that if you live in ‘paradise’ you will be willing to spend every penny you can eke out just for the privilege of living here. Will the last taxpayer/ratepayer out please turn out the lights, please.
After the legislature enabled the GWSA and now the “energy saving” folks they are using taxpayers to underpin the drug industry – first marajuana, next the hard drugs labs, and probably after that the illicit drug runners with free electric vehicles to distribute their products by green means.
Wake up Vermont and put an end to the reckless legislation put forward by the air heads in the House and Senate.
Again- a legislatively mandated bureaucracy with little oversight and obvious taxing authority- (by virtue of the mandated “efficiency fee” each month) will now subsidize lighting and equipment to PRODUCE carbon dioxide, to benefit growers of a plant that intoxicates humans.
Taxed to create the legal marijuana market
Taxed on energy to subsidize the legal marijuana market
Taxed to provide the social and emergency services required as a result of the legal marijuana market.
The irony is obvious, as is the lack of accountability of the Vermont Legislature.
Just jaw-dropping hard-to-fathom why and how it has come to this. Utterly stupid and mindless.
This is bad, but check out the salaries of the Efficiency Vermont staff. Completely overboard. How do we stop this?
If a business needs to be subsidized to exist it shouldn’t be a business
Next up… Abortion rebate if you ride to your appointment in an EV bus.
They call it a fee, but it’s actually a T-A-X. You pay a fee to DMV to provide a service, say a vehicle registration and/or renewal. The average rate-payer gets next to nothing from this ‘fee.’ In this case, marijuana growers are benefiting, not you.
Slavery 2.0
The average voter appears to be quite braindead; they keep voting for the progressives who raise the prices on everything to support their imagined utopia. In fact, they have created hell for most moderate-income earners. You would think that people would say, what have I got to lose by trying something new, I’m already broke and hurting. But no, they have apparently signed onto the cult and can’t imagine anything else, so they suffer along with many others.
The state has created all of this over the last 30 or more years of democrat and progressive policies. You reap what you sow, enjoy your misery. It has been created by you, the who keep voting for this. Enjoy your financial demise. Good Job (sarc)!
Vote Republican in November. The choice couldn’t be more obvious.
In the interest of seriously disappointing the members of the legislature who have been salivating for years over the potential revenue of a retail market, I hope it falls flat on it’s face. The legislature made the astute move of legalization with a fairly generous provision for home growing years earlier and many folks have since then invested in the equipment and the know-how to provide it for themselves and Vermont is absolutely swimming in quality weed, as abundant as zucchini. Who is really going to want to pay exorbitant taxes for something they can grow themselves or barter for?
Growers supplement CO2 cause the amount in the atmosphere is at dangerously low levels for plant life. You have been lied to by climate hoaxers.
https://dailysceptic.org/2022/07/13/linkedin-bans-geologist-for-posting-the-u-s-governments-own-co2-graphs-saying-they-are-false-and-not-allowed/
“ current amounts of CO2 in the atmosphere are at their lowest levels in Earth’s history. The level has been falling steadily for over 140 million years. And of course they fail to show a link with temperature, which has risen and fallen throughout the period without any obvious connection. Alternative explanations, some more plausible than others, suggest different forms of plants and life evolved to cope with higher CO2 levels, the sun was cooler in the past, and recent increases in the gas are unprecedented.”
Pure thievery
To think that they are using our tax money to subsidize a federal offense.
A vote for a Democrat is a vote for Socialism/Communism!!
Vermont…and this country going to hell in a handbasket…..I’m stunned, dismayed, and just plain frustrated with the total lack of common sense…….
holy moly……..where is it all going and what is to be left for our children and grandchildren and their children (should we manage to still be the USA)……..
Hard to believe we are subsidizing the business of growing and supplying drugs that are against federal law!
Incredibly stupid and unfair policy. Let’s vote the rascals out!
If you read your utility bill closely, surcharges are “past storm and power fixed charge,” “emerald ash borer charge,” “electric assistance program fee,” as well as “energy efficiency charge.” The actual energy usage is broken down by a base charge, on peak charge, and off peak charge. Is there any other choice to get your electricity in your area? Since the utilities and the government work in solidarity for the common good (wink,wink), pay it or sit in the dark and for some, no heat. Monopoly? Yes. Illegal? Yes. Yet, here we are paying every month and those who carry the water for the globalist dogs from Hell, will get their palms greased accordingly. Awake yet?
When pot was illegal, the users and dealers (Criminals) always got sympathy from the govt, thus justice dept…Now it’s legal, they would of course get a bigger bite from the taxpayers dollar…Nothing has changed. Democrats will always side with the criminals and aside from this give-away of our money, will be even more spent on the cost of health care to the users of this substance, via medical services rendered as well as drug counciling….You can’t fix stupid.
Vote Red,Red,Red vote Red period!!
Vote out the liberal Dem Swamp Rats 🐀 🐀 🐀 period folks!!
You Vermonters have SNOOZED long enough don’t you think!!
Vote for true patriot Republicans that hold the line and not cross party line period Vermonters
Wake up Vermonters wake up!!
Let your Voice be Heard!
Do not be silent!
Do not be violent!!
GET OUT AND VOTE!!