Electric-Powered Equipment

This webinar will highlight the growth opportunities for electric vehicles in the construction and agriculture industries.

The transportation electrification sector has experienced a boom in the past decade with automakers, equipment manufacturers, electric utilities and policymakers rolling out plans for a zero-emission future. When we look at cutting emissions significantly, we should also examine off-road vehicles, such as agriculture and construction equipment. Equipment manufacturers are developing electric-powered machinery (tractors, compact excavators, forklifts, cranes) to meet new emissions regulations and improve efficiency, making them cleaner and quieter. 

Our speakers will highlight incentives, policies and projects driving the transition to achieve emissions reduction in the construction and agricultural sectors. We’ll discuss lessons learned and best practices from the real-world applications of these projects and how to take advantage of available funding.

Moderator 

Robert Wallace, Executive Director, Energy Program Innovator, WyEast Resource Conservation and Development

Speakers 

Brad Wham, Sales Team Manager, Orange EV

Brad Wham is the Sales Team Manager for the Central U.S at Orange EV. He is responsible for accelerating adoption of the company's market-leading EV terminal tractors, as one of the best, most proven applications of heavy-duty electric trucks available. He joined Orange EV in 2021, bringing over 25 years of growing brands, categories, and businesses. His sales, marketing, and general management experience comes from leadership roles in public companies like GE Penske, Ryder Transportation, and privately held businesses at MHC Kenworth (Paccar) and Idealease. He's a native of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and holds a bachelor’s degree from Palm Beach Atlantic University.

Steve Heckeroth, Founder, CIO and Chairman of the Board, Solectrac

Steve Heckeroth, Founder, CIO and Chairman of the Board of Solectrac, has been working in the renewable energy sector for decades. With a BA in Architecture, he pioneered the design of passive solar homes and holds patents for PV roofing products. He built electric sports cars with a 100-mile range in the 90s when EVs were just starting to be discussed and pivoted to building electric tractors in the mid-90s where the weight of the batteries was a benefit for added traction. He built several prototypes on commission. Solectrac LLC was founded in 2012 to bring electric tractors into commercial production. Heckeroth secured federal grant funding to continue the development work on electric farm tractors and in 2019 incorporated the company as a CA Benefit Corp. After a successful equity crowdfunding campaign in 2020, Solectrac with Heckeroth as CEO, experienced exponential growth to later become a subsidiary of Ideanomics in 2021

Alene Walkington, Program Manager, EnergyRight for Business & Industry, Tennessee Valley Authority

Alene Walkington is a Program Manager for TVA’s EnergyRight for Business & Industry programs. She is responsible for the energy efficiency and electrification incentive programs currently promoting the following technologies: UVGI, Forklifts, Lighting, Indoor Agriculture and HVAC. She also manages the Preferred Partners Network (PPN) which is the trade ally network that has exclusive access to the incentive offerings. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Tennessee Tech University and has been in the TVA EnergyRight organization since 2009 in roles providing analytics, marketing, communications, design and implementation for programs.