Episode 14 | Minnesota Cannabis Energy Rebates Explained | CEE Interview

We sat down with Tony Beeman and Brad Obermueller from the Center for Energy & Environment at Lucky Leaf to talk about one of the most overlooked parts of building a cannabis business in Minnesota.

Energy.

From LED rebates to real estate challenges, this conversation breaks down how early decisions around power, lighting, and facility setup can impact cost, timelines, and long-term success.

We also discuss:

•  Xcel Energy territory and eligibility 
•  Six-figure rebate opportunities 
•  Real estate challenges in Minnesota 
•  How operators can avoid costly delays 

If you're building or planning in Minnesota, this is a conversation worth paying attention to.

Real Estate Map Referenced in the Episode

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Transcript

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SPEAKER_00 0:01

The thoughts, views, and opinions expressed on the CannaConnect Show belong solely to the individuals and do not reflect those of Canaconnect and its affiliates, sponsors, or partners. Canticonnect does not promote or facilitate any activity that violates state or federal regulations. Everything you hear here is strictly for educational and entertainment purposes. It is not legal advice. It is not financial guidance, and it's definitely not medical direction. Seriously, don't take our word for it. Even if someone on the mic sounds like they know what they're talking about, and they're probably crazy smart too. Regardless of how legit our guests may be, you should always do your own homework, consult with your attorney, and understand the risk you're taking before you do anything when it comes to cannabis. Our intention is to keep it real. If you've got a problem with anything we've said, take us to court.

SPEAKER_03 0:56

I have Tony Beaman on my left, Brad Obermüller on his left, the Center for Energy and Environment, a nonprofit focused on getting micro businesses, lighting rebates with LED helping push the innovation within the industry on the microcultivation side. We're talking about the Minnesota cannabis industry. This is the Minnesota, this is the Canada Connect Show, and we are here for the Minnesota cannabis industry. Tony, how was day one of Lucky Leaf?

SPEAKER_02 1:26

It was good. Um, I think you probably had about 10 folks stop by that were in our territory and were micros. Yeah. So we exchanged contact information, kind of walks through um uh kind of the process and kind of timelines and everything like that. So so far, so good.

SPEAKER_03 1:41

So far, so good. And when you talk about your territory, you're talking about XL Energy Territory, Centers for Energy and Environment fits within the XL Energy Umbrella. Exactly. And your program that you guys oversee is focused on micro businesses.

SPEAKER_02 1:58

XL Energy micro businesses. So a total canopy, including flower and veg, 8,000 square feet or below, yeah, within XL territory, you're good. Has to be an existing building. Okay, we don't do new construction, uh-huh. We don't do greenhouses. Okay. All that goes to XL. There's still rebates for sure. So always gonna be rebated in XL. Yeah. It just may or may not be housed within Center for Energy or X.

SPEAKER_03 2:22

And I'm hearing from uh well, GrowPro Solution that the Center for Energy and Environment has the best rebates.

SPEAKER_02 2:29

Yeah.

unknown 2:30

Right.

SPEAKER_02 2:31

35% higher than standard.

SPEAKER_03 2:33

Okay. Yep. That's gotta feel good when you're talking to microbusinesses that you guys have the not the green standard, but you guys are more plugged in than anyone else when it comes to rebates. Yeah, we've been. In the in Minnesota.

SPEAKER_02 2:49

In Minnesota.

SPEAKER_03 2:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 2:50

But it's been three years working with groups like you, working with manufacturers. Uh, you know, this might be half the size as last year as far as space used, but it's a better conference, a better show, a better day one on a Friday. Yeah. Because everybody's serious since walking through it. Yeah. You know, you could see the connections that are built with the manufacturers, with the rebay facilitators, with the cultivators that have licenses. You know, it's not people saying, I'm thinking about doing this. Everybody here has got a plan. And it's cool to see how connected everybody is in Minnesota now. It took a while, but it's it's rolling.

SPEAKER_03 3:31

It's interesting, really, that the vendors are more connected. Yeah. I mean, the community's more connected, but there's more vendors here, and there's less folks walking the floor. And that's interesting because the folks that were here last year are already kind of on their way. Yeah. Uh, you know, we're recording this to get out to the entire market in Minnesota, and hopefully folks see this, even if they weren't able to make it to Lucky Leaf. And that's okay. Not everybody's in the Twin Cities. Uh, we understand that. However, if folks are looking for more information, you've got new something new on your website as far as the real estate uh QR code goes. So tell me a little bit about that page and what can microbusinesses find on there.

SPEAKER_02 4:14

Yeah, yeah, because I mean, Rad and I were just talking about it yesterday. The the worst conversations we have are customers that are really excited, they're looking for real estate, then may reach out to us in a month or two, they give us an address, you look it up on the map, and unfortunately, they're a half mile from XL territory and they find out there's no rebates. You know, we we're issuing six-fiddle rebates on every micro. Yeah. The most bootprint one is $375,000. So wow. Uh, if you go to our website, there's a link to all available commercial XL Energy Real Estate for lease or Curgis. Yeah. Um, not a hundred percent of the time, but the majority of the time it'll also show the amount of amperage coming into the building, you know, like Corey Villser uh three phase, so you don't have to do a service upgrade, which could delay you by six months, right? Uh, if you're at the show, we've got a bunch of pamphlets with the QR code, come grab one, find yourself somewhere in XL.

SPEAKER_03 5:06

And what are some of the delays and downsides that you're seeing inevitably happening right now in the Minnesota cannabis industry?

SPEAKER_02 5:13

Upgrades is the biggie.

SPEAKER_03 5:14

Service upgrades.

SPEAKER_02 5:15

Keeping real estate with ample service is yeah, it's same thing with last year, same thing. We've only got about 20 projects in the hopper, you know. If we're just scrambling to try to find right size real estate.

SPEAKER_03 5:25

And and we've had uh Mackenzie Damaro from Hoyt Properties on on the show since the last time I've sat down with you guys. She's a real estate agent. She's not just focused on cannabis, but man, has she uh seen the she's been through the ringer when it comes to showing folks properties, real estate. There's so many hoops that these guys are having to jump through to find the right building. Yeah. It's an unfortunate reality that comes with with uh this industry and some of the limitations that the realities of that we're facing. So I hate to be a downer, but uh we're here to tell the whole story, not just the the good stuff. Um so with the limited options that folks have, what are your goals in 2026 as it cut as it relates to where we're at in the Minnesota cannabis industry?

SPEAKER_02 6:13

Well, just practically speaking, our forecasted goal, because we live in the world of energy savings. I mean we don't look here, revenue and all that, yeah. None of that. It's all about energy savings for us today. We earmarked about 13 million kilowatt hours for grow this year, okay conservatively. Um, the average project is about a million kilowatt hours to put that in perspective. Okay. So if all of a sudden we get an influx, we could go well beyond that. Yes. And we're at about 12 and a half uh million kilowatt hours signed up and ready to go. So we're close to hitting goal in February, basically. Okay. So even though it's a slow roll, yeah, they're really big energy savers, you know. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 6:50

Um, so you don't need a million of them to add up. Okay. Yeah. And and you know, one of the things we're running it out on the show right now is like we talk about just how it's a no-brainer to reach out to see. And this isn't your first time on the show, but like talk about, you know, when folks do reach out, what are those conversations like?

SPEAKER_01 7:10

My experience, yeah. That is, you know, the it's it's turning into what we want is we're helping these customers get to the finish line, right? So you mentioned earlier that we have the connection with vendors and everybody kind of knows their slot and their spot with each other. So now when these customers are calling, you know, they're not only calling that they have a space at HVAC in there, but they're asking us, you know, what the rules are. You know, how do we how do we get the rebate? How soon can we get it? You know, they're they're looking to us more as like, hey, is this for real? What's the catch kind of thing? Once they get past that, it's hey, you know, can you come take pictures before and after? This is amazing. You know, we we dreamed of this two years ago. We've been working on this for 12 months. Sorry for dragging you along for a long time. But you know what? You made us feel comfortable, and now we can do this. We're gonna start small, we're gonna take this bigger and be successful. Yeah, you know. I don't I don't think we can compare to other states. Um how how this one's rolling out, but in 2026, I think my goal to you know, piggyback off Tony a little bit is just, you know, now the customers are a little further along, maybe they know they have the financial back and whatever it is, yeah. But it doesn't take long for us to turn around what they need from us. Okay. So we can we can get the rebate quickly and we can help them kind of push the needle over and and actually make the project happen. Yeah. I'm I'm excited to close some jobs, help some people, and you know, do it for free. I mean that's that's it and awesome.

SPEAKER_03 8:48

Yeah, so um now when when folks are working with different lighting providers, do the rebates get facilitated differently? And what I mean is in the manufacturers, not the uh not not the rebate facilitators, but is the process a little different depending on which LED lighting company you go with?

SPEAKER_02 9:04

Or absolutely yeah, the process is identical, the analysis is different. Okay, so what we need incrementationally is all the same. The main variability is wattage, dimming schedule, efficiency, and costs. And so the I'd say nine out of ten of the projects are within 20% of each other. The market's pretty straightforward, unless it's a really high-end Cadillac fixture with spectral tuning and all the, you know, Cadillac features that sit that up. But I don't think we've had a project with a payback greater than a year compared to HPS. I think we're averaging about a happier payback. So yeah, it's just like don't put HPS in, just don't do it. That's right.

SPEAKER_01 9:41

The higher the efficacy, the higher the rebate.

SPEAKER_03 9:44

Easy enough, guys. Uh, I'm looking forward to catching up with you guys again in in March and April. And and just we're gonna continue to monitor, we're gonna continue to promote the Center for Energy and Environment. It's a no-brainer if you're a micro business. And we really encourage you to look at XL Energy as a or Henterpin County and the XL Energy Territory as an option because you're gonna get the best rebate, and that's going to make a huge difference in your micro business. So if you have any questions, reach out to Brad, reach out to Tony, visit them online. It's a Center for Energy and Environment, and we'll be right back.

SPEAKER_01 10:17

Appreciate you, buddy.

SPEAKER_03 10:18

Good to see you. Thanks, buddy. Thanks for being here.

SPEAKER_01 10:19

Yeah.