Since launching the REACT (Rural Electrification And Charging Technology) program, we have assessed the opportunities in the program for a small cohort of customers, before opening it for general enrollment in 2025.
We have learned a lot and been pleasantly surprised by what we've learned. The headline is that the needs of the Ag market for charging solutions are way out ahead of where we thought they would be now, and more of what we expected to address a few years down the road...or down the row. ;-)
As we expected, early deployments are typically for one or two tractors, and Ag operators have gotten by with a non-networked, Level 2 charger with no management features, that they plug into a 240V outlet in a shop/barn/shed. But that has quickly reached its limit in number of vehicles and tractors they can charge and the operational inflexibility of long charge durations.
The requirements that we are hearing and using our technology and program incentives (from our CEC REDWDS grant) include:
- An operation that needs more charging capacity to support a large investment in electric tractors. With Gridtractor Plan, we are matching charging technology with available capacity at irrigation pumps and shops at several adjacent farms to optimize across a larger footprint.
- A farm that is constructing a new office building where they need to quickly charge visitors' vehicles for the ride back and want to be able to power critical building loads during power outages.
- A winemaking operation with varied charging requirements across multiple locations, including tractors in the vineyards, trucks delivering out of the production facility and light duty vehicle charging for guests at the retail location.
Developing charging solutions for these diverse operations includes most vehicle types (LD/MD) and customer types (ag/industrial/commercial/residential). We look forward to seeing the solutions deployed and responding to dynamic grid signals in 2025!
Learn more about the REACT program , email us or tell us a bit about your operation and we'll reach back out to you.
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