Founder & CEO | Onpoint Power | Energy Solutions for Cannabis
The Hotbox with Dustin Hoxworth isn’t your polished PR interview. It’s me getting stoned and asking people the questions they probably aren’t ready for. These aren’t cold reads or copy-paste Q&As; I sit with my guests, usually multiple times, and I’ve likely met them in person, which gives me a window to learn who they really are before I ever send the questions. By the time the words hit the page, it’s smoke-thick honesty, not surface-level bullshit. These are cannabis conversations that showcase the voices, stories, and truths that won’t show up in the boardroom.
This week in The Hotbox, we sit down with Jim Kordoban, the Founder and CEO of On Point Power. If you don’t know Jim, he’s the kind of guy who works to bring solutions to the industry. After more than 20 years in business and energy, he has turned his focus toward one of the toughest, least glamorous, but most critical challenges in cannabis: power.
Energy is the hidden backbone of this industry. Every grow light, every HVAC system, every dispensary point-of-sale screen runs on it. Yet operators in both the U.S. and Canada are constantly fighting sky-high bills, outdated grids, and political tug-of-war over renewables and sustainability. For cultivators, energy costs can be the difference between breaking even and closing doors. For retailers, stability in energy pricing can decide whether expansion is possible or impossible.
Jim has watched cannabis companies wrestle with this reality, and he has made it his mission to give operators the tools to stop reacting and start strategizing. What makes him stand out is not just his knowledge of energy markets, but his willingness to have the uncomfortable conversations about infrastructure, policy, and survival. Power may not be as flashy as a new product launch or brand story, but without it, nothing else exists.
Hotbox Q&A: 5 Questions with Jim Kordoban
Cannabis cultivation and retail are notorious for high energy consumption. How do you see energy costs and sustainability shaping the future of cannabis operators in both the U.S. and Canada?
Energy costs and sustainability are quickly becoming defining factors in who survives in cannabis. Indoor cultivation already consumes a massive amount of electricity, and as markets mature and margins compress, inefficient operators are going to struggle. The advantage will shift to operators who can meaningfully reduce their energy footprint.
Regulation is accelerating that shift. California is already mandating renewable energy use, while Canada is rolling out carbon taxes and efficiency standards. Operators without a real sustainability plan will face higher costs, compliance challenges, or limited market access.
As a result, we’re seeing clear trends: a move away from fully indoor grows toward outdoor and greenhouse hybrid models, investment in on-site renewables to hedge against energy volatility, and increased retail consolidation as energy costs favor larger, more efficient operators. Energy efficiency is no longer optional. It’s becoming a core competitive requirement, and the industry’s long-term viability depends on solving its energy problem.
The energy sector is volatile, with shifting regulations and fluctuating costs. What’s the biggest misconception cannabis operators have about energy?
The biggest misconception is treating energy as just an operating expense instead of a strategic risk.
Most operators focus on the monthly bill without accounting for grid instability, demand charges, time-of-use pricing, or sudden regulatory changes. In places like California, rolling blackouts and grid constraints are already real threats. A single extended outage can wipe out an entire crop.
There’s also a misunderstanding around renewables. Many see them as expensive or cosmetic, when in reality, they’re financial hedging. Solar paired with storage can lock in energy costs for decades, while grid prices trend upward.
I usually ask operators one question: What happens to your business if energy costs double in three years? That reframes energy from accounting to strategy. The operators who survive won’t be the ones with the lowest bills today, but the ones protected from volatility tomorrow.
How do energy challenges and opportunities differ between the Canadian and U.S. cannabis markets?
Canada and the U.S. face very different energy realities.
In Canada, the system is structured but restrictive. Cold climates drive high heating costs for much of the year, and provincial utility monopolies limit flexibility. However, Canada benefits from relatively low baseline power costs due to hydroelectricity, access to carbon credits, and normal banking relationships that make renewable financing easier.
The U.S. is far more fragmented but flexible. Energy costs vary dramatically by state, grid reliability can be an issue, and federal illegality blocks access to some incentives. But operators can take advantage of sun-rich states, deregulated power markets, and state-level energy programs.
Strategically, Canadian operators tend to optimize within tighter constraints, while U.S. operators can still relocate, redesign, or go off-grid. In both markets, though, the endpoint is the same: only highly efficient or energy-independent operators will maintain margins long-term.
If you could change one thing about cannabis and energy consumption, what would it be?
I’d make energy disclosure and benchmarking mandatory.
Most operators don’t know how their energy use compares to competitors, where waste is occurring, or whether they’re efficient at all. Without transparency, there’s no pressure to improve.
If every cultivator had to publicly report energy use per unit of production and renewable sourcing, inefficient operators couldn’t hide. Best practices would spread faster, capital would flow toward efficiency, sustainability claims would become verifiable, and regulators could base policy on real data.
We’ve seen this work in commercial real estate. Cannabis would see dramatic efficiency gains within just a few years.
What role does On Point Power play in helping cannabis operators turn energy into a competitive advantage?
On Point Power’s value comes from objectivity and market intelligence. Most operators only see a per-kilowatt-hour rate, but we help uncover hidden costs like demand charges, time-of-use penalties, and restrictive contract terms that quietly erode margins.
We also help operators understand energy realities when expanding into new markets, structure flexible contracts that support rapid growth, and hedge against volatility during uncertain regulatory periods.
Because we see energy data across many cannabis facilities, we know what efficient operations actually look like, which designs fail, and when operators are paying far more than competitors. Cannabis operators are experts at cultivation, but most lack energy market expertise. Our role isn’t just cost savings. It’s risk management, intelligence, and long-term competitiveness.
Jim Kordoban understands what many in cannabis try to ignore: energy is not just another line item, it is survival. From managing costs to navigating sustainability, energy strategy is one of the most important and overlooked parts of running a cannabis business. Through Onpoint Power, Jim is giving operators a way to think long-term, build stability, and gain control over an issue that can make or break them.
For an industry caught between regulation, economics, and public perception, leaders like Jim remind us that success is not only about culture and products. It is also about the infrastructure that keeps the lights on.
