LEDs Light Up Indoor Farming and Marijuana Cultivation

The overall LED grow-light module market is expected to grow from $395 million in 2013 to $3.6 billion by 2020, according to WinterGreen Research. That ridiculous rate of growth will in large part be driven by medical marijuana legislation and indoor grow rooms. A 2012 study from Berkeley Lab found that indoor marijuana production could account for as much as 1 percent of U.S. electricity use, about half the amount consumed by data centers. As GTM's Katie Tweed reported, within the city of Denver, marijuana grow operations are using more than 2 percent of electricity. By 2035, the state of Washington expects marijuana-related energy use to exceed the energy draw of electric vehicles.