Why Struggling Cannabis Growers Are Betting On The AI Data Center Boom
Moratoriums, NIMBYISM and power constraints crushed most of their dreams
Michael Ward and his investors spent $20 million to build the 32,850-square foot Harbor Farmz cannabis facility in Kalamazoo, Michigan in 2020, back when a pound of marijuana went for roughly $2,500. He knew the price would drop as the market expanded and matured, but he never thought it would plunge to where it is today: a paltry $700. Then, this year, Michigan added a 24% wholesale tax on top of everything else.
“Let’s put it this way: Breaking even is the new succeeding,” says Ward. By his estimate, taxes eat about 75% of his company’s revenue, leaving him just barely in the black most months. Revenue has fallen from $6.5 million to a projected $3 million this year, and he has since surrendered two of his three cultivation licenses, taking the operation from a peak of 7,500 plants to roughly 2,000. “We’re better off than most. That’s kind of the joke in the industry.”
So Ward went looking for a buyer in the one industry with more money than it can spend: AI. His weed facility has many of the things on a small AI data center developer’s shopping list. The 32,850-square foot industrial complex is wired for 1.5 megawatts now, with capacity to get up to 2.5 megawatts under 12 months, and 15 in the long term and is threaded with fiber. Temperature is regulated by a state-of-the-art HVAC system. His four acre parcel sits next to another 3 acres of brownfield that is also up for sale.
To Read The Rest Of This Article On Forbes, Click Here
