Starting this week, qualified small business landscape professionals can now purchase discounted zero-emission lawn mowers, blowers, and other landscape equipment through a new category of funding offered through vouchers from the California Air Resources Board’s Clean Off-Road Equipment Voucher Incentive Project (CORE).
Administered by CALSTART, the CORE program’s new funding category has an allocation of more than $27 million of vouchers for professional landscape services operated by small businesses or sole proprietors. “Professional landscapers often operate on very tight profit margins and can find it challenging to upgrade to new technology,” said Jacob Whitson, CALSTART’s lead project manager, “CORE’s new landscape voucher incentives will allow them to more easily adopt zero-emission professional equipment for their businesses, while in turn encouraging manufacturers to expand their offerings in this market.”
Sydney Vergis, chief of CARB’s Mobile Source Control Division, said, “The CORE project incentive funds will help get more zero-emission equipment into the hands of landscape professionals — while also helping California meet its clean air and climate goals.”
As of November 7, equipment purchasers can request point-of-sale vouchers for discounts on the following types of landscape equipment:
Equipment Type and Voucher Amounts
| Equipment Type | Base Voucher Amount |
|---|---|
| Edgers | Up to $300 per tool (Bare tool or combination kit) |
| Hedgers | Up to $300 per tool (Bare tool or combination kit) |
| String Trimmers | Up to $300 per tool (Bare tool or combination kit) |
| Chainsaws | Up to $300 per tool (Bare tool or combination kit) |
| Pole Saws | Up to $300 per tool (Bare tool or combination kit) |
| Vacuums | Up to $300 per tool (Bare tool or combination kit) |
| Handheld Leaf Blowers | Up to $300 per tool (Bare tool or combination kit) |
| Backpack Leaf Blowers | Up to $400 per tool |
| Walk-behind Mowers | Up to $1,250 per tool |
| Ride-on/Stand-ride Mowers | Up to $12,500 per tool |
Eligible Batteries and Charging Equipment
| Equipment Type | Voucher Amount |
|---|---|
| Batteries <700Wh | Up to $1,000 per base voucher |
| Batteries ≥700Wh | Up to $3,000 per base voucher |
| Charger | Up to $5,000 per base voucher |
| Power Management Equipment | Up to $5,000 total per purchaser |
- Up to $1,000 for batteries with <700Wh of energy capacity, per tool so base voucher OR up to $3,000 for batteries with ≥700Wh of energy capacity, per tool so base voucher
- One charger up to $5,000 per tool base voucher
- Voucher amounts are based on 70% of Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) in CORE eligible equipment catalog
- Up to two power management devices, up to $5,000 total, per purchaser
- Funding is capped at $25,000 per eligible purchaser
- Equipment must be sold at no less than MSRP indicated in the CORE Eligible Equipment Catalog
- Stacking funds must not exceed 100% of the total cost of equipment
- Eligible equipment must be purchased from an approved CORE Dealer
- Eligible equipment must be listed in the current CORE Eligible Equipment Catalog
To be considered for eligibility for vouchers, small businesses must offer landscape services that help repair, install, or subcontract the development of landscape systems and facilities for public and private gardens and other areas that are designed to aesthetically, architecturally, horticulturally, or functionally improve the grounds within or surrounding a structure or a tract or plot of land. Additionally, the business must be independently owned and operated with a principal office located in California. Finally, the company must have 100 or fewer employees and average annual gross receipts of $15 million or less over the previous three years.
To promote broad application of CORE funding, $10 million of the total funding allocation will be set aside for 180 calendar days to ensure microbusinesses have access to participate. The remaining $17 million will be set aside for small businesses.
To submit a voucher request, vehicle purchasers must select eligible equipment from the equipment catalog and contact an approved dealer to submit a voucher request. The dealer will submit the voucher request to the Voucher Processing Center and the vehicle purchaser will receive the CORE incentive at the point of sale.
For more information on the topic, see the article, Benefits & Challenges Of Transitioning To Battery Power.
