Maui Grown Therapies, 44 Paʻa Street, Kahului, HI 96732 808.755.9355, www.mauigrowntherapies.com For Immediate Release Wednesday, February 1, 2017 MAUI GROWN THERAPIES TO GROW GREEN State’s Highest Scoring Dispensary Licensee Launches Solar-Powered Cultivation Program KAHULUI, HI---Today, Maui Grown Therapies (MGT) received its long awaited Notice to Proceed with Cultivation from the Hawaiʻi State Department of Health (DOH). MGT earned the state’s first medical marijuana dispensary license last April after achieving a near perfert score of 510 of a possible 520 points in a merit based evaluation process conducted by the DOH. The Notice to Proceed allows cannabis cultivation to begin in MGT’s initial production facility. The grow operation is powered by polycrystalline solar panels that convert photons into electricity for storage in commercial lithium ion battery stacks. The batteries can store up to one megawatt of electricity to provide firm power for cultivation chambers outfitted with energy-saving wide spectrum LED lights. This ‘micro-grid’ system is sized to provide 100 percent of the electricity needed for Maui Grown Therapies’ Production Center One, the first of two production centers permitted by law. A second production center, also powered by renewable energy, will be announced later this year. “Growing cannabis is extremely energy-intensive,” said John Bews, MGT’s Energy & Ecosystems Engineer. “Energy is typically the second highest operating expense for cannabis producers even in places like Denver, where electricity costs are over 70% lower than Maui’s costs. When you consider MECO’s average cost is over 40 cents per kilowatt hour, power from the grid would be our largest operating cost. Our phase one solar plant, which is big enough to power 650 homes, reduces energy to fraction of what we otherwise pay using MECO.” (more)