A Denver-based cannabis landlord has officially removed the polluting diesel generators previously used to power its facilities in East Oakland after the regional air district’s request to shut them down was backed by an Alameda County Superior Court judge.
Following a Sept. 13 hearing, Judge Evelio Grillo ruled that the Bay Area Air Quality Management District’s July abatement order against the cannabis company Green Sage is “immediately enforceable,” and invited the district to apply for a temporary restraining order in case the generators pop up again.
Since October 2020, Green Sage had been using unpermitted diesel generators on its property so its cannabis tenants could cultivate pot. At its peak, the property was using a dozen generators and racking up enough electricity to power 9,000 homes, according to the air district.
Through the end of August, Green Sage kept using five diesel generators in defiance of the order, even as the company also faced a series of building and fire code violation citations, threats of city fines and criminal charges and pending legal action from activists and residents.
The company argued in a court filing that it needed more power than PG&E could provide in order to meet the needs of cannabis cultivation, citing millions of dollars of crop lost if there was a sudden change in energy supply.
The air district said it’s working with the city of Oakland and Alameda County to enforce the order and ensure more generators don’t arrive on the property. If Green Sage does not comply, they could face multiple penalties in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
“We’re watching it very closely,” said Kristine Roselius, an air district spokesperson.
The company did not respond to a request for comment on the order.
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