A certification process highlighting energy-efficient cannabis cultivators and a tax credit to complement it are key sustainability proposals of an industry white paper released Tuesday by New York’s Castetter Cannabis Group. The paper also called for state regulators to develop a strategy for data collection and analysis of license holders’ operations. Its recommendations reinforce lawmakers’ urgency to minimize harm to the state’s fledgling industry but suggest a divergent strategy centered on incentives rather than efficiency limits. “We’re advocating for a performance-based approach,” said Kate Hruby, the group’s lead policy analyst and co-author of the paper. In mid-March, before adult-use cannabis was legalized in New York, state Assemblywoman Patricia Fahy, D-Albany, had proposed language for a bill that would ensure the budding industry is designed to comply with emissions standards that would reduce its potential impact on the state’s ambitious climate goals. If passed, the legislation pushing cannabis growers to environmentally conscious practices would put New York in a position to regulate them up-front. In contrast, early legalization states such as Colorado and California have circled back to try to cut down on their industries’ emissions once growers were already licensed and running. The language of Fahy’s bill, which includes limits on lighting power density and mandates for efficient heating and cooling systems for indoor grow operations, was mirrored in a Senate bill introduced in April by state Sen. Michelle Hinchey, D-Saugerties.
420 Intel – Marijuana Industry News, 07/27/2021 20:00:00