Maine’s largest cannabis greenhouse breaks ground
Courtesy / Sweet Dirt
Sweet Dirt co-founder Hughes Pope, left, and ArchSolar CEO Tony Kieffer broke ground yesterday on a 32,800-square-foot cannabis-cultivation greenhouse in Eliot.
Eliot cannabis company Sweet Dirt LLC and ArchSolar, a Portland-based builder of environmentally sustainable greenhouses, broke ground Tuesday on what's expected to be Maine's largest cannabis greenhouse.
The 32,800-square-foot facility will be located at Sweet Dirt’s headquarters, 495 Harold L. Dow Highway in Eliot.
Last June, Sweet Dirt’s cultivation facility there was destroyed by fire and a warehouse significantly damaged. The greenhouse is being built on the same lot where the fire occurred. Now built for harsh climates, the multi-bay facility will feature high thermal performance, extreme snow and wind load capacity, an automated louvered intake and exhaust system and an automated light-shading system.
The ability to leverage natural light to reduce electrical usage was a large part of Sweet Dirt’s decision to partner with ArchSolar, according to a news release.
ArchSolar brings over five years of greenhouse experience to the project. The company says it is the only greenhouse provider offering 50-foot span bays, which allow a higher portion of planted space than traditional designs.
“We are pleased to be working with Sweet Dirt to build out what, to our knowledge, is the largest cannabis greenhouse in Maine” Tony Kieffer, president and founder of ArchSolar, said in the release. “ArchSolar clients have a proven track record of growing year-round in 20-below winter weather or 90-degree summer weather in a greenhouse that uses about a third of the energy required by a traditional indoor operation.”
Sweet Dirt expects to deliver year-round, organically grown cannabis to Maine's adult-use market, said Hughes Pope, who co-founded the company in 2014 with his wife Kristin.
In September, Sweet Dirt, which also operates as a registered medical cannabis dispensary and grower, signed a lease for a 4,926-square-foot retail building at 1207 Forest Ave., Portland.
Eliot voters in 2019 approved an ordinance and licensing procedure allowing for adult-use cannabis cultivation, manufacturing and retail operations.
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