“To grow pot there (indoors) a person would have to run AC 24 hours a day for part of the year.”
Indoor growers ANYWHERE have to run AC 24 hours a day, because the heat from grow lights alone in an enclosed space necessitates it.
However, coastal Northern California, with it’s constant cool breeze coming off the ocean most of the year, is far more favorable from an economic stand point. It would cost a lot less to cool a grow op there, and simply opening some windows would do a big part of the cooling job.
I would bet a dollar that indoor growers in Alaska, in winter, do not have to use AC to cool their grow op, within reason.