Do you own and use an electric or battery-powered leaf blower? Do you wonder why local landscaping companies don’t switch from the noisy, smelly gasoline-powered versions?
The main barrier has been price, while the main inducement for commercial operations to switch has been the “stick” of the “carrot-and-stick” approach: a ban on the use of gas blowers. Yountville, Calistoga, and St. Helena are three jurisdictions in Napa County that have banned gasoline-powered blowers. (Photo caption: Napa City Councilmember Bernie Narvaez and Napa Power Equipment owner David Near discuss battery-powered leaf blowers.)
Coming January 1, 2024, there will be a statewide ban on the sale of new small off-road engines (SOREs) used in gasoline-powered lawn equipment including mowers, leaf blowers, edgers, trimmers, etc. This is being implemented by the California Air Resources Board to reduce the disproportionate amount of greenhouse gas emissions caused by SOREs. The recent Draft Napa County Regional Greenhouse Gas Inventory 2019 Update estimated that Lawn and Garden Equipment are responsible for 25% of Napa County’s Off-Road Emissions, a category that also included construction and industrial equipment.
But, starting November 7, the state has added a big “carrot” to incentivize professional landscapers to purchase and use zero-emission equipment. This is the California CORE (Clean Off-Road Equipment) Voucher Incentive Project which will cover up to 70% of the cost of zero-emission (battery-powered) professional landscape service equipment including leaf blowers, hedge and string trimmers, walk-behind mowers, edgers, chainsaws, batteries, and charging equipment. The funding for the vouchers is generous: $27 million dollars is available, and each business can receive up to $25,000 worth of vouchers.
The program is easy for equipment buyers to access. They need only have a valid California ID and proof of a commercial business, such as a business license or a business card. They can go to an authorized dealer and select approved equipment from the CORE catalog. The dealer will fill out all the paperwork and be responsible for collecting the voucher reimbursement, so the buyer gets the equipment for 70% off.
Napa County has two authorized dealers: Napa Power Equipment featuring Stihl and Echo products and Horizon Distributors featuring Greenworks, Echo, Exmark, and Makita products.
The vouchers are expected to go fast so when you hear a noisy gas leaf blower, let the operator know they can get 70% off a new battery-powered blower with the CORE vouchers. Let’s spread the word to Napa’s professional yard care businesses and make Napa cleaner, “greener”, and quieter!