305 Farms announced Tuesday in a press release that Consumers Energy presented a rebate check to them for $849,023.45 in recognition of its use of energy efficient equipment at their cannabis grow facility in Lawrence.
The rebate is one of the largest rebates issued by Consumers Energy to a company in the cannabis industry and is only for the first building at the huge campus. 305 Farms anticipates further refunds as the campus grows.
The facility is planned to be the largest artificial light indoor marijuana grow operation in the state and is currently municipally approved to stack forty (40) Class-C cultivation licenses and cannabis processing license(s) on a single parcel of real estate. When fully operational, 305 Farms will employ at least 200 full-time employees, making it the largest employer in Lawrence.
“We appreciate the fact that Consumers Energy recognizes our efforts to be a socially responsible company by using state-of-the-art equipment to reduce our energy use,” said Matthew Peon, CEO of 305 Farms. “We hope all other marijuana grow facilities will follow 305 Farms’ lead in this effort.”
“305 Farms has invested in several energy efficient solutions that save them money, reduce their energy usage, and help protect our planet,” said Brian Rich, senior vice president and chief customer officer at Consumers Energy. “Their upgrades also demonstrate how Consumers Energy works every day with our Michigan customers to develop clean, affordable energy solutions. We are proud to be a partner with them and many businesses on their clean energy journey.”
The 305 Farms energy-efficient 40-acre campus is being constructed in three main phases; the first phase, recently completed, comprises 44,000 sq. ft. of cultivation rooms and an adjacent 16,000 sq. ft. operations center, with dedicated space for trimming, processing, commercial kitchens, and a warehouse. Phases 2 and 3 will be complete in 2023 and 2024 respectively, adding two additional buildings with a combined footprint over 200,000 sq. ft. The company’s 2-tier vertical rack systems will provide the campus with over 300,000 sq. ft. of plant canopy when all phases are complete.
Consumers Energy offers businesses rebates for making energy saving improvements, such as installing LED lighting, high-efficient HVAC, and dehumidification equipment, and more. Businesses can learn about rebate opportunities available here.
“We are committed to quality at all levels of our business model,” Peon added. “305 Farms will define a new gold standard for energy efficiency in cannabis manufacturing.”
The construction of all phases at the campus will cost 305 Farms over $100M. “We could have built our infrastructure for much less,” said Luke McPeeters, campus operations director, “that just wasn’t our vision, we focus on the long term. This campus will be capable of manufacturing as much as 20% of the entire Michigan market, from flower to vapes. To cultivate at this scale, efficient technology is not just an option, it’s an imperative to survive.”
305 Farms is a specialty cultivator of boutique quality cannabis flower and pre-rolls. 305 Farms adjacent processing center manufactures cannabis concentrates for use in vape and edible products, marketed under a variety of brands:
- 305 Farms
- Workers Cannabis
- HIGHEND
- Tableweed
- Dizzy Desserts
- Gitana
305 Farms is backed by The Verleur Group, a Florida based startup incubator, founded by former Electronic Cigarette industry pioneers, Jan Verleur and Dan Recio. The duo founded VMR Products LLC in 2009, which was later acquired in a 9-figure transaction by JUUL Labs (Oct. 2018).
VMR was the manufacturer of the V2® and V2 Pro® brands of electronic cigarettes, and also manufactured products for many international tobacco brands, including Zig-Zag® and OCB®. VMR was also the company behind the Prohibited® brand of electronic cannabis vaporizers, which were sold nationwide between 2016-2018 before being acquired by PAX Labs®.
Consumers Energy is Michigan’s largest energy provider, providing natural gas and/or electricity to 6.8 million of the state’s 10 million residents in all 68 Lower Peninsula counties.