LP Gas, July 2018
carbon dioxide generation and lighting Phil Comstock vice president of safety and operations for Delta Liquid Energy in Paso Robles California says there is little difference between serving marijuana growers and agricultural customers In Nevada we have a couple of customers that are using propane Comstock says Generally they are on the outskirts of town where utilities are limited Comstock says these customers are using propane for air conditioning and heating and for a capstone unit that generates electricity One customer in particular has a large grow house which is a large warehouse used for growing marijuana requiring electricity for grow lights They are basically off the grid out where utilities are not able to support the load they need Comstock explains They are supplementing their electricity with a capstone unit using propane Facing challenges The services propane retailers provide to marijuana growers are nothing out of the ordinary but retailers face some unique challenges in this market I would say the one difference is this tends to be an all cash business Comstock says Weve had to figure out solutions as far as billing and things like that That was new Thats not your normal farm We worked it out but it was something that was a hurdle that needed to be overcome Nathan Charette CEO of Silver Valley Propane in Apple Valley California ran into a similar challenge with cash billing but he points out a different challenge Sometimes you have to poke around peoples properties when you set a tank Charette says These marijuana growers are a little leery of that Getting these guys to get comfortable with you is probably one of the hardest parts These guys are pretty protective over their area Outside of the heating cooling and other energy needs marijuana growers are using commercial grade propane in their laboratories for production purposes which poses another challenge for retailers This was a bit of a challenge Comstock says Commercial grade propane is not something we would normally stock so we have to find a source for them now I have been in the industry for a long time and I have never had anyone ask me for commercial grade or medical grade propane Growers utilize a mixture of butane and propane as a solvent used in an extraction process helping the producers extract what they need out of the cannabis plant Additionally propane can be used in extraction methods for specialty high sugar consistency products and to bring about high terpene content the aromatic oils found in cannabis and other plants Kush Bottles Inc a company that provides marijuana packaging supplies and gas and solvents uses propane in its hydrocarbon mixture Propane is not the Continued on page 40 LPGasmagazine com July 2018 LPGas 39
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