wire Expo 2024 Newsflash: Companies Receive Grant from California Energy Commission for Rural Electrification and Charging Technology

wire Expo 2024 learned that previously, the California Energy Commission (CEC) approved $2.5 million for the Rural Electrification and Charging Technology (REACT) project, which deploys charging technology on farms and other rural areas in response to dynamic grid trends.

The grant aims to encourage users to upgrade to agricultural vehicles, including the Monarch MK-V, the world’s first fully electric, smart tractor and electric farm vehicle (EFV). The project reduces the cost of deploying charging infrastructure while responding to dynamic pricing and participating in demand response programs, thereby increasing the return on investment for customers electrifying their farm equipment.

The project allows users to charge at the most convenient times and, during periods of energy scarcity or high prices, to export electricity to the grid or local loads, significantly improving energy efficiency and reducing costs.

wire Expo 2024 has learned that the project also strives to improve existing billing methods for the electrical grid. Valley Clean Energy's successful pilot at AgFIT has pushed regulators to initiate a large-scale dynamic rate expansion statewide, in collaboration with Community Choice Aggregators (CCA), aiming to promote a win-win scenario for electric utilities and consumers.

Praveen Penmetsa, CEO and co-founder of Monarch Tractor, states, "California farmers have already seen significant savings from the early deployment of the electric smart MK-V tractor. Over the past two years, Monarch Tractor has deployed more than 400 MK-Vs, offsetting over 850 tons of CO2 emissions during 42,000 hours of tractor operation. However, larger-scale deployments require more charging infrastructure, and this grant will significantly reduce the operational cost for users purchasing electric tractors.”

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