New electric equipment that could provide a zero-emission footprint for the agriculture industry was on display Tuesday at Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria.
The college co-hosted the event with the Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District.
Rudy Gutierrez with the City of Santa Maria stopped by to see what was on display. While he understands the high price tag associated with this type of equipment, he says there are resources available to help.
“The Air Pollution Control [District] here locally does a great job of, you know, providing grants and those resources to help us make that transition from, you know, fuel to electric. And it does go a long way to help with, with the cost of this,” Gutierrez said.
There are various rebate and trade-in options for organizations like schools, public agencies and non-profits looking to replace older equipment with zero-emission machinery.
Robert Howard, Public Works Supervisor for the City of Camarillo, agrees that cost can be an issue.
“Being a small city... budgets are a little tighter now, but I know we're getting into the area where we're going to have to go mostly all-electric," Howard said. "I've been pushed on there and that's the future we're trying to look at.”
If your business qualifies for a funding program, you could see rebates on new zero-emission equipment of up to $15,000. Eligible projects could receive anywhere from $10,000 to $250,000 in funding. Applications are being accepted until September 6. Click here for more information.
