Case Study: Northwest Agricultural Drying achieves efficient mobile hemp drying with Capstone Green Energy microturbines

Northwest Agricultural Drying - Customer Case Study

Northwest Agricultural Drying (NAD) needed a reliable way to dry large volumes of hemp quickly enough to keep pace with harvest, but local utility power was expensive and less dependable than they needed. To support its mobile drying unit, NAD worked with **Capstone Green Energy** and distributor Arctic Energy, Inc. on a stand-alone combined heat and power (CHP) approach using **three Capstone C65 microturbines**.

**Capstone Green Energy** delivered a propane-fueled CHP system that powered the dryer and captured exhaust heat for the drying process. The solution provided more than **800 continuous hours** of stand-alone power in its first year, eliminated supplemental utility power, and made the system **100% more efficient** than the prior method. It also reduced hemp drying losses from **50% to 1%**, cut maintenance needs, and helped NAD meet Tier 4 emissions and low-noise requirements.

Northwest Agricultural Drying

Doug Brenton

Operations