Solectrac, a Northern California-based company that specializes in electric tractors, made a high-profile delivery this month for its product’s first appearance in Hawaii.
On April 15, Hawaii musician Jack Johnson and his Kokua Hawaii Foundation received a donated compact electric tractor, or CET, model for use at the group’s seven-acre Kokua Learning Farm on Oahu’s North Shore.
Johnson became an investor in Solectrac through his own initiative, company spokesperson Christiane Heckeroth told Pacific Business News. Solectrac bills itself as the first production manufacturer of electric tractors in the U.S.; its vehicles are built to be quiet and emission-free.
“The connection came out of my mining our sales and recognizing Jack's name and email suffix,” Heckeroth said in an email. “Jack had been searching the internet for an electric tractor and found us.
“I alerted Steve [Solectrac founder Heckeroth] and he and Jack started talking the next day. Jack liked the idea so much that he also became an investor in Solectrac through our StartEngine equity crowdfunding campaign last year," Christiane Heckeroth said. "As an investor he was able to nominate a farm that was going to receive a donated tractor and it so happened that Kokua was the foundation that the investor community voted to receive the donation.”
The tractor will be used to help cultivate Kokua’s mission of sustainable agriculture. The nonprofit foundation supports environmental education in Isle schools and communities, like its AINA in Schools initiative to allow youth to see sites of locally grown produce, and 3R’s School Recycling program.
“We are so excited about our new compact electric tractor and our ability to run it with zero emissions off of solar power. We can’t thank Solectrac enough for their generosity,” Johnson said in a statement. “The Kokua Learning Farm is a place for people of all ages to see the possibilities of a bright future, and this new electric tractor will have lasting impact for generations to come.”
Johnson’s wife and the co-founder of the foundation, Kim Johnson, noted during a supplied video of the unveiling of the tractor at the farm that 90% of Hawaii’s food is still imported.
“Every level of the development of this property, we’re trying to use it as an educational moment,” she said in the video. “Even today, where we had the first electric tractor in Hawaii, we invited farmers to come see the tractor, talk about the future of what this means for sustainable agriculture here in Hawaii, and use it as an opportunity for us to all learn and share ideas together.”
Solectrac also builds a larger-model tractor, but its four-wheel-drive, 22-kilowatt hour CET model is listed as the equivalent of 30 horsepower on a diesel engine and is valued at $25,800. It is designed for small farms and vineyards, golf courses, and municipalities. The lithium iron battery is meant to last six hours and can be charged in under four hours with a 30-amp outlet, according to the company.
The Solectrac spokesperson to email Pacific Business News about the Jack Johnson connection was Christiane Heckeroth. A different person was initially attributed.
