Power REIT (NYSE-AMEX: PW and PW.PRA) (“Power REIT” or the “Trust”)
today announced that it has entered into a lease amendment (the
“Amendment”) to fund additional capital improvements to its
existing greenhouse cultivation property in York County Maine. The
approximately 48,000 square-foot facility sits on six acres and is
leased to a leading vertically integrated cannabis company in
Maine.
Pursuant to the Amendment, Power REIT will fund
the installation of a highly energy efficient onsite power
generation and cooling system. Power REIT’s total capital
commitment related to these improvements is approximately
$3,500,000 which increases the straight-line annual rent by
approximately $654,000 which represents an approximately 19%
unleveraged core FFO yield.
Combined Heat and
Power/CogenerationCombined Heat and Power (CHP), also
known as cogeneration, is the production of electricity and thermal
energy from a single energy source. In this case, the energy input
is clean burning natural gas to run a reciprocating engine which
includes emissions corrections for the exhaust. The Sweet Dirt
property will benefit from installing a CHP system at its property
whereby it will generate its own electricity and recover the heat
produced as a byproduct of the electricity production and make that
a usable energy source. This allows Sweet Dirt facility to offset
running other equipment for heating the facility. In addition to
the heat that will be used for heating the greenhouse, the project
includes an absorption chiller which can create cooling from the
heat produced by the cogeneration system through an evaporative
process. A cogeneration system that incorporates an absorption
chiller is often referred to as tri-generation since it creates
three outputs from one energy input. CHP in the form of onsite
generation can operate at a fuel conversion efficiency approaching
85% compared to the efficiency of a central power plant which
typically has an electrical efficiency closer to 40% before
factoring in significant efficiency losses associated with the
distribution of power through the utility to the end user and the
inability to capture and use thermal energy. As such, Sweet Dirt is
taking a sustainable approach to meeting its energy needs.
David Lesser, Chairman and CEO of Power
REIT commented, “These improvements to this greenhouse
cultivation facility will allow Sweet Dirt to take their operations
to the next level in an energy efficient manner. Power REIT has a
significant focus on sustainability and cogeneration is a way to
lower the overall carbon footprint of the greenhouse while also
lowering its cost of operations and enhancing production yields. I
have a significant background focused on sustainability and energy
efficiency including the benefits of distributed generation of
power in the form of cogeneration. A major component of our
investment thesis is that greenhouses are a sustainable approach to
the cultivation of certain crops. Incorporating tri-generation at
the Sweet Dirt greenhouse directly supports this thesis.”
Sweet Dirt Sweet Dirt currently
operates three retail locations with plans to open two more stores
in Q2 2022. With regard to cultivation and manufacturing, Sweet
Dirt operates the greenhouse facility owned by Power REIT. There
are also plans for an extraction facility to open in Summer/Fall
2022. Sweet Dirt has grown significantly, now employing 130+
employees (305% YoY growth). After a strong 2021, generating a
record year of revenues, Sweet Dirt captured a considerable portion
of the total Maine Adult Use market share with Maine’s only
Certified Clean Adult Use cannabis.
Maine Cannabis MarketFor the
month of January 2022, the Maine Office of Marijuana Policy
reported Adult Use cannabis product sales of approximately $8.8
million representing 250% growth year over year. Smokable cannabis
flower accounted for the majority of sales in 2021, but
concentrated and infused products are steadily gaining market share
representing consumer demand for more diverse form factors. Sweet
Dirt is well positioned in the Maine market with extraction and
manufacturing facilities and two more retail locations coming
online in 2022.
Jim Henry, CEO of Sweet Dirt
commented, “Leading in the cannabis industry in the state
of Maine means focusing on not just financial success, but also on
what’s best for Maine and Mainers. Adding this energy efficiency
project to our cultivation and manufacturing campus will allow us
to accelerate our growth in an environmentally friendly and
cost-effective manner. We remain committed to becoming a
large-scale producer of premium, high quality cannabis-related
products to meet the growing demand in Maine. We evaluated many
options for implementing this project and ultimately concluded that
IntelliGen Power Systems was the best option for us.”
Statement on
SustainabilityPower REIT owns real estate related to
infrastructure assets including properties for Controlled
Environment Agriculture facilities with a focus on greenhouses,
Renewable Energy and Transportation.
CEA facilities in the form of greenhouses,
provide an extremely environmentally friendly solution, which
consume approximately 70% less energy than indoor growing
operations that do not benefit from “free” sunlight. Greenhouses
use 90% less water than field grown plants, and all of Power REIT’s
greenhouse properties operate without the use of pesticides and
avoid agricultural runoff of fertilizers and pesticides. These
facilities cultivate medical Cannabis, which has been recommended
to help manage a myriad of medical symptoms, including seizures and
spasms, multiple sclerosis, post-traumatic stress disorder,
migraines, arthritis, Parkinson's disease, and Alzheimer’s.
Renewable Energy assets are
comprised of land and infrastructure associated with utility scale
solar farms. These projects produce power without the use of fossil
fuels thereby lowering carbon emissions. The solar farms produce
approximately 50,000,000 kWh of electricity annually which is
enough to power approximately 4,600 homes on a carbon free
basis.
Transportation assets are
comprised of land associated with a railroad, an environmentally
friendly mode of bulk transportation.
About Power REITPower REIT,
with a focus on the “Triple Bottom Line” and a commitment to
People, Planet and Profit is a specialized real estate investment
trust (REIT) that owns sustainable real estate related to
infrastructure assets including properties for Controlled
Environment Agriculture, Renewable Energy and Transportation. Power
REIT is actively seeking to expand its real estate portfolio
related to Controlled Environment Agriculture in the form of
greenhouses for the cultivation of food and cannabis.
Additional information about Power REIT can be
found on its website: www.pwreit.com
About Sweet DirtSweet Dirt is a
vertically integrated cannabis company based in Maine. Sweet Dirt
produces organically grown cannabis (medical and adult use) and
cannabis-infused products. The company’s focus on the creation of
its proprietary soils and organic growing practices have earned the
company the MOFGA (Maine Organic Farmer and Gardeners Association)
‘Certified Clean Cannabis’ (MC3) designation achieved by fewer than
1% of all licensed cannabis growers in Maine.
Additional information about Sweet Dirt can be found on its
website: www.sweetdirt.com
About IntelliGen Power Systems
LLCIntelliGen Power Systems, located in Old Bethpage, New
York, is a leader in Distributed Generation in the form of
cogeneration since 1988. IntelliGen is focused on incorporating the
highest quality components and maintenance to deliver optimized
Cogeneration capabilities efficiently and cost-effectively.
IntelliGen is owned by an affiliate of David H. Lesser, Power
REIT’s chairman and CEO.
Additional information about IntelliGen Power
Systems can be found on its website: www.intelligenpower.com
Cautionary Statement About
Forward-Looking StatementsThis document includes
forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S.
securities laws. Forward-looking statements are those that predict
or describe future events or trends and that do not relate solely
to historical matters. You can generally identify forward-looking
statements as statements containing the words "believe," "expect,"
"will," "anticipate," "intend," "estimate," "project," "plan,"
"assume", "seek" or other similar expressions, or negatives of
those expressions, although not all forward-looking statements
contain these identifying words. All statements contained in this
document regarding our future strategy, future operations, future
prospects, the future of our industries and results that might be
obtained by pursuing management's current or future plans and
objectives are forward-looking statements. You should not place
undue reliance on any forward-looking statements because the
matters they describe are subject to known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other unpredictable factors, many of which are
beyond our control. Our forward-looking statements are based on the
information currently available to us and speak only as of the date
of the filing of this document. Over time, our actual results,
performance, financial condition or achievements may differ from
the anticipated results, performance, financial condition or
achievements that are expressed or implied by our forward-looking
statements, and such differences may be significant and materially
adverse to our security holders.Contact:
David H. Lesser, Chairman & CEO |
Mary Jensen, Investor Relations |
dlesser@pwreit.com |
mary@irrealized.com |
212-750-0371 |
310-526-1707 |
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301 Winding RoadOld Bethpage, NY
11804 |
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www.pwreit.com |
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