Nevada Cannabis Cultivation Facility Energy: Desert Cooling, NV Energy LGS Classes, and Summer TOU Peaks

What an indoor grow looks like to NV Energy

A utility meter sees a nearly flat block when grow lights are on, a smaller block when they are off, and a summer bump when chillers fight outdoor temperatures that routinely exceed 100 F in Clark County [noaa-cag-nevada]. Unlike humid coastal states, Nevada's low ambient humidity means ventilation air rarely adds latent load [noaa-cag-nevada]. The peak still arrives in July and August because sensible heat from lights and mechanical cooling stack on the same schedule [noaa-cag-nevada].

Nevada's 103 licensed cultivators are overwhelmingly on NV Energy bundled service [ccb-active-license-list]. Retail supplier choice does not exist for a typical grow. The lever is tariff selection, load scheduling, and efficiency, not a supply contract.

Southern Nevada class placement (Nevada Power)

Effective January 1, 2026, southern commercial schedules break as follows [nve-south-commercial-rates]:

Schedule	Usage / demand threshold	Demand billing
GS	Up to 3,500 kWh per month	No demand charge
LGS-1	Over 3,500 kWh; billing demand up to 299 kW	$4.60/kW facilities + $5.48/kW demand
LGS-2	Billing demand 300 kW to 999 kW	Per tariff
LGS-3	Billing demand 1,000 kW or greater	Per tariff

Optional TOU versions (OGS-TOU, OLGS-1-TOU, LGS-3P high-load) shift the demand charge to summer on-peak: June 1 through September 30, 3:01 p.m. to 9 p.m. daily [nve-south-commercial-rates].

A standard indoor flowering facility under LEDs commonly peaks between 150 kW and 400 kW depending on canopy square footage and HVAC redundancy. That range typically lands on LGS-1 or LGS-2 in Las Vegas. Crossing 300 kW moves the account into LGS-2 pricing, which changes both facilities and demand line items [nve-south-commercial-rates].

Northern Nevada (Sierra Pacific) uses GS-1 through GS-4 with breakpoints at 50 kW, 500 kW, and 1,000 kW [nve-south-commercial-rates]. A Reno-area grow follows a different dollar-per-kW stack even at the same peak kW.

Worked example: 25,000 sq ft indoor flowering under LEDs

Assumptions (label every one):

• Location: Clark County, Nevada Power territory
• Canopy: 25,000 sq ft flowering, LED at 35 W/sq ft fixture draw
• Lighting load: ~875 kW nameplate; actual metered peak with HVAC ~320 kW (typical oversizing and staggered zones)
• Schedule: LGS-2, non-TOU for this illustration
• Annual kWh: 2.8 million (flat 18-hour photoperiod, partial HVAC overlap)
• Bundled energy rate: 9.83 cents/kWh (EIA Nevada commercial average, June 2026) [eia-epm-5-6-a]
• Demand: one monthly peak at 320 kW; use LGS-1 demand charge of $5.48/kW as a conservative proxy because the example straddles classes [nve-south-commercial-rates]

Energy portion: 2,800,000 kWh × $0.0983 = $275,240

Demand portion (illustrative): 320 kW × $5.48/kW × 12 months = $21,043 (facilities charge omitted; actual LGS-2 tariff may differ)

Rough annual total: about $296,000, or 10.6 cents/kWh all-in before riders, DEAA adjustments, and taxes.

This is not a quote. It shows how a favorable 9.83 cent average can still produce double-digit all-in costs once 320 kW of summer peak bills every month on a demand schedule [eia-epm-5-6-a] [nve-south-commercial-rates]. Moving the same load to optional TOU and shifting 80 kW out of the on-peak window could reduce the demand line materially; NV Energy's storage incentive pays more for TOU customers precisely because that peak is expensive [nve-storage-incentive].

Lighting, HVAC, and CO2 in a 2,166 CDD climate

Statewide normals average 2,166 cooling degree days and 3,452 heating degree days [noaa-cag-nevada]. Las Vegas exceeds the statewide CDD figure. Design implications:

• Chiller and condenser sizing must cover extended summer run hours, not just peak day design.
• Low ambient humidity reduces dehumidifier work on makeup air but not on in-room transpiration [noaa-cag-nevada].
• Nighttime lighting schedules that overlap NV Energy's 3:01 to 9 p.m. summer on-peak window guarantee peak demand during the highest-priced interval on TOU schedules [nve-south-commercial-rates].

CO2 enrichment and supplemental heating add baseload kWh but rarely set peak kW unless gas heat is unavailable and electric resistance runs in northern Nevada winters [noaa-cag-nevada].

Demand ratchets and minimum billing demand

The January 2026 Nevada Power rate summary does not state a demand ratchet [nve-south-commercial-rates]. Open the full tariff for minimum billing demand provisions before assuming a single bad month disappears next billing cycle. Even without a ratchet, LGS class placement persists until usage patterns change, so oversizing HVAC for day-one canopy you have not planted yet can lock in demand charges early [ccb-active-license-list].

Conditional cultivation licenses on the CCB September 1, 2026 sheet (39 adult-use cultivation pending inspection) are energizing service now [ccb-active-license-list]. Size electrical service for planned canopy, but stagger room commissioning so all flowering rooms do not hit peak simultaneously on the first harvest cycle.

The 704B threshold and why most grows stay bundled

NRS 704B allows a customer averaging 1 MW or more of annual load to buy energy from a provider of new electric resources while taking Distribution Only Service from NV Energy [nrs-704b]. The PUCN sets a case-specific impact fee, and applications are accepted only January 2 through February 1 with at least 280 days' lead time [nrs-704b].

A 320 kW peak grow running flat might reach roughly 1.9 million kWh annually, far below the 8.76 million kWh implied by a 1 MW average load. Multi-building campuses and the largest LGS-3 accounts are the only cultivation scenarios worth modeling a 704B exit [nrs-704b]. See the 704B guide for the application calendar.

Efficiency and storage programs

• Custom grow-light incentives through PowerShift Business Energy Services when prescriptive lists do not cover horticultural fixtures [nve-bes-summary].
• Commercial storage incentive at $0.32 to $0.60 per Wh depending on system size and TOU enrollment, with caps up to $500,000 on larger systems [nve-storage-incentive].
• Instant Discount on eligible LED products at point of sale for qualifying distributor purchases [nve-bes-summary].

Confirm funding and pre-approval requirements before capital planning.

On-site solar pairs with Nevada's high insolation, but export compensation and standby charges follow NV Energy tariffs and may not offset evening lighting load [nve-bes-summary]. Battery storage behind the meter targets summer on-peak demand shaving more reliably than solar alone for a 12-hour flowering photoperiod [nve-storage-incentive]. See the on-site solar and storage guide for interconnection sequencing with CCB buildout timelines.

Staggered photoperiod and on-peak overlap math

Optional Nevada Power TOU schedules concentrate demand charges from 3:01 to 9 p.m. June through September [nve-south-commercial-rates]. Assume 320 kW peak with lights and HVAC fully coincident in that window versus 320 kW peak with 80 kW of lighting shifted to off-peak hours (inputs).

Case	On-peak coincident kW	Demand charge exposure
Full overlap	320	Full TOU demand $/kW on 320 kW [nve-south-commercial-rates]
80 kW shifted off peak	240	TOU demand on 240 kW if peak moves [nve-south-commercial-rates]

Eighty kW shifted is not agronomy-free; it requires veg and flower scheduling discipline. NV Energy's storage incentive pays higher tiers for TOU customers precisely because that window is expensive [nve-storage-incentive].

Commissioning conditional licenses without demand surprises

The CCB September 1, 2026 conditional sheet lists 39 adult-use cultivation licenses pending pre-opening inspection [ccb-active-license-list]. Energizing every room on the same week creates a single-month peak that can lock LGS class placement for months [nve-south-commercial-rates]. Bring rooms online in phases aligned with first harvest cycles, and verify whether the tariff sets minimum billing demand before assuming one bad month rolls off immediately [nve-south-commercial-rates].

Annual kWh stack for the worked example grow

Continuing the 25,000 sq ft Clark County assumptions above [noaa-cag-nevada] [eia-epm-5-6-a]:

Load	Assumption	Annual kWh
Flower lighting	700 kW effective, 12 h/day, 365 days	3,066,000
Veg lighting	80 kW, 18 h/day, 365 days	525,600
HVAC and cooling	200 kW average	1,752,000
Fans, pumps, office	40 kW continuous	350,400
Total		5,694,000

At 9.83 cents/kWh energy only, that stack is about $559,700 per year before LGS demand and facilities charges [eia-epm-5-6-a] [nve-south-commercial-rates]. Demand at 320 kW using the $5.48/kW proxy adds roughly $21,000 annually as calculated above [nve-south-commercial-rates]. Pull the full LGS-2 tariff for facilities charges before budgeting a pro forma [nve-south-commercial-rates].

CO2 burners and indirect peak kW in sealed rooms

Bottled CO2 adds little direct electric load. Burner-based CO2 adds heat the HVAC must remove, which can set summer billing demand when chillers and dehumidifiers run together [noaa-cag-nevada]. In Nevada's dry ambient air, latent load from ventilation is low, but in-room transpiration still drives dehumidifier kW [noaa-cag-nevada]. See dehumidification load in indoor cannabis for the interaction with optional TOU on-peak windows [nve-south-commercial-rates].

Where to go next

• Nevada hub for market and choice overview
• Commercial electricity rates for class tables and EIA benchmarks
• NV Energy utility page for tariff detail
• Compare desert grow economics: California cultivation guide, Texas cultivation guide

Tariff dollars on this page were verified against sources opened on 2026-09-11. Pull the current NV Energy rate insert before quoting a specific facilities or demand charge.