The NOW Corporation Wind Technology Looks to Power the Cannabis Industry


Ryan Allway

May 27th, 2014

News, Top Story


The alternative energy and cannabis industries are perhaps two of the fastest growing industries in the United States. After the drug was legalized for adult recreational consumption in two U.S. states, many growing and dispensing operations sprung up to meet the increasing demand for the product. This has set the stage for a number of ancillary public companies like GrowLife Inc. [stockquote symbol=”PHOT”] and Creative Edge Nutrition Inc. [stockquote symbol=”FITX”] to capitalize on the multi-billion dollar marijuana industry.

[stockchart symbol=”NWPN”]

The NOW Corporation [stockquote symbol=”NWPN”] is taking a similar ancillary approach to the industry by providing efficient energy solutions. With the enormous power needs of growing operations, the company is leveraging its unique exoPOWER wind turbine technology to reduce costs for cannabis growers.

In this article, we’ll take a look at the unique wind power technology, how it applies to the growing cannabis industry, and some other potential catalysts that investors might want to consider when looking at the stock.

New Approach to Wind Power

With a marginal cost of less than $0.01 per kWh, wind power has become an extremely economic source of energy after the upfront investment. These initial capital costs have also fallen over time as wind turbine technology has improved with longer and lighter blades, increased power generation efficiency, and higher quality craftsmanship that reduces the need for ongoing maintenance costs.

The problem is that the current three blade horizontal axis wind turbines (“HAWT”), primarily manufactured by General Electric [stockquote symbol=”GE”], have become ubiquitous within the industry having an enormous footprint at more than 300 tons and >400 feet tall. In addition to the large footprint, HAWTs generate significant levels of low frequency noise, have blades that can harm wildlife, and involve many moving parts that increase maintenance costs.

NOW Corp.’s exoPOWER wind turbine systems are engineered to efficiently convert wind power to electrical power using a turbine wheel system that has its air foils (or wind sails) positioned along the circumference of an outer ring distributing stress and torque equally instead of concentrating them on a center axle. Since the entire system is fully enclosed there are far fewer noise and environmental issues.  Having fewer moving parts leads to reduced maintenance costs, savings on expensive lubricants, and reduces the operations and maintenance demands that are commonplace with traditional wind turbines.

According to a recent interview with management, the company is close to developing a functional commercial demonstration model after engineering modeling has shown the system to be very effective. The company estimates that it’s about eight months away from finishing a 250 kW unit that measures about 15 feet in height by 60 feet in diameter, which it will use to test in real life scenarios to measure its overall efficiency.

Significant Industry Demand

NOW Corp. plans to commercialize its unique wind technology by providing power to the rapidly growing cannabis industry, which is facing a growing demand for increasingly more expensive power (especially in urban centers) that can cut into profit margins.

Through an agreement with a former company executive, The NOW Corporation has entered into a joint venture agreement to acquire a 50% working interest in a 10,000-acre farm that plans on growing hemp and medical cannabis into Colorado’s burgeoning marketplace.  The farm will also be the testing ground for the 250kW unit that the company plans on building in the near future.

As a relatively close proxy, the U.S. Department of Agriculture found that one quadrillion BTU of direct energy was used in the agricultural industry in 2008 generating nearly 76 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Broken down by source, 43% of that power came from diesel fuel, 33% electricity, 13% gasoline, 7% petroleum, and 4% natural gas. With such an emphasis on fossil fuels, and the associated rising costs, these dynamics have led to an increased focus on alternative energy solutions for farms across the country.

The agricultural industry could benefit from wind power over solar power for a number of different reasons. First, the horizontal profile of solar energy renders a large footprint of land unusable for agricultural purposes, while wind power generates electricity using a smaller vertical footprint. Secondly, wind power is significantly cheaper than solar power after the initial costs are recouped.

In the end, wind turbine technology enables agricultural customers to maximize their cultivatable square footage, while reducing their energy costs every time the wind starts to blow.  To boot, the excess power generated using the turbines can also be resold to the energy grid in order to generate revenue rather than simply being a cost center for the end users.

Opportunity for Investors

The NOW Corporation aims to capitalize on these dynamics by introducing its unique wind turbines as an alternative to more expensive solar power and traditional wind turbine installations. With a large-scale initial project in its pipeline, the company is well positioned to prove its technology in a commercial setting and generate real data that should enable it to more easily attract future customers.

At the same time, management is also working towards becoming a fully reporting company, according to a recent interview with management. The company believes that it’s about three months away from becoming fully reporting, pending an audit that will remove the OTC Markets “stop sign” when completed. The increased transparency could help investors more accurately value the stock.

Investors in both the alternative energy and cannabis space may want to take a closer look at the stock given the unique technology, initial customer, and move to increase transparency. While the stock continues to trade with a micro-cap market capitalization, investors willing to assume the risks associated with a small company may want to take the time to investigate further with the resources that we’ve provided in the following section.

More Information

Sign Up To Receive Future Email Updates On The NOW Corporation

This article was published by CFN Enterprises Inc. (OTCQB: CNFN), owner and operator of CFN Media, the industry’s leading agency and digital financial media network dedicated to the burgeoning CBD and legal cannabis industries. Call +1 (833) 420-CNFN for more information.

About Ryan Allway

Mr. Allway has over a decade of experience in the financial markets as both a private investor and financial journalist. He has been actively involved in the cannabis industry since its inception, covering public and private companies.

Disclaimer: Except for the historical information presented herein, matters discussed in this article contain forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. Emerging Growth LLC dba TDM Financial, which owns CannabisFN, is not registered with any financial or securities regulatory authority, and does not provide nor claims to provide investment advice or recommendations to readers of this release. Emerging Growth LLC dba TDM Financial, which owns CannabisFN, may from time to time have a position in the securities mentioned herein and will increase or decrease such positions without notice. For making specific investment decisions, readers should seek their own advice and that of their own professional advisers. Emerging Growth LLC dba TDM Financial, which owns CannabisFN, may be compensated for its Services in the form of cash-based and/or equity- based compensation in the companies it writes about, or a combination of the two. For full disclosure please visit: https://www.cannabisfn.com/legal-disclaimer/.



Network Partners

Follow Us on Social Media

About CFN Media Group

CFN Enterprises Inc. (OTCQB: CNFN) owns and operates CFN Media Group, the premier agency and financial media network reaching executives, entrepreneurs and consumers worldwide. Through its proprietary content creation, video library, and distribution via www.CannabisFN.com, CFN has built an extensive database of cannabis interest, assisting many of the world’s largest cannabis firms and CBD brands to build awareness and thrive. For more information, please visit www.cfnenterprisesinc.com.

Disclaimer: Matters discussed on this website contain forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. CFN Media Group, which owns CannabisFN, is not registered with any financial or securities regulatory authority and does not provide nor claims to provide investment advice or recommendations to readers of this release. CFN Media Group, which owns CannabisFN, may from time-to-time have a position in the securities mentioned herein and will increase or decrease such positions without notice. The Information contains forward-looking statements, i.e. statements or discussions that constitute predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, estimates, or projections as indicated by such words as "expects", "will", "anticipates", and "estimates"; therefore, you should proceed with extreme caution in relying upon such statements and conduct a full investigation of the Information and the Profiled Issuer as well as any such forward-looking statements. Any forward looking statements we make in the Information are limited to the time period in which they are made, and we do not undertake to update forward looking statements that may change at any time; The Information is presented only as a brief "snapshot" of the Profiled Issuer and should only be used, at most, and if at all, as a starting point for you to conduct a thorough investigation of the Profiled Issuer and its securities and to consult your financial, legal or other adviser(s) and avail yourself of the filings and information that may be accessed at www.sec.gov, www.pinksheets.com, www.otcmarkets.com or other electronic sources, including: (a) reviewing SEC periodic reports (Forms 10-Q and 10-K), reports of material events (Form 8-K), insider reports (Forms 3, 4, 5 and Schedule 13D); (b) reviewing Information and Disclosure Statements and unaudited financial reports filed with the Pink Sheets or www.otcmarkets.com; (c) obtaining and reviewing publicly available information contained in commonlyknown search engines such as Google; and (d) consulting investment guides at www.sec.gov and www.finra.com. You should always be cognizant that the Profiled Issuers may not be current in their reporting obligations with the SEC and OTCMarkets and/or have negative signs at www.otcmarkets.com (See section below titled "Risks Related to the Profiled Issuers, which provides additional information pertaining thereto). For making specific investment decisions, readers should seek their own advice and that of their own professional advisers. CFN Media Group, which owns CannabisFN, may be compensated for its Services in the form of cash-based and/or equity-based compensation in the companies it writes about, or a combination of the two. For full disclosure, please visit: https://www.cannabisfn.com/legal-disclaimer/. A short time after we acquire the securities of the foregoing company, we may publish the (favorable) information about the issuer referenced above advising others, including you, to purchase; and while doing so, we may sell the securities we acquired. In addition, a third-party shareholder compensating us may sell his or her shares of the issuer while we are publishing favorable information about the issuer. Except for the historical information presented herein, matters discussed in this article contain forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. CFN Media Group, which owns CannabisFN, is not registered with any financial or securities regulatory authority, and does not provide nor claims to provide investment advice or recommendations to readers of this release. CFN Media Group, which owns CannabisFN, may from time to time have a position in the securities mentioned herein and will increase or decrease such positions without notice. For making specific investment decisions, readers should seek their own advice and that of their own professional advisers. CFN Media Group, which owns CannabisFN, may be compensated for its Services in the form of cash-based and/or equity- based compensation in the companies it writes about, or a combination of the two. For full disclosure please visit: https://www.cannabisfn.com/legal-disclaimer/.

Copyright © Accelerize Inc. · All Rights Reserved · Privacy Policy · Legal Disclaimer

loading