The benefits of using LED grow lights with controlled environment crops are well documented. One of the reasons some growers are reluctant to make the investment in these grow lights is affordability. Horticultural distributor Hort Americas is working with LED grow light manufacturer GE Current, a Daintree company, to ensure its customers are making the right choices to meet their lighting, production, and profitability requirements.
“Hort Americas and Current are continually monitoring what kind of financing solutions are available for our customers and their projects,” said Lee Levitt, North American utility director at Current. “This includes utility rebates, grants, and loans through federal, state, and local municipalities or helping to solve energy supply issues in deregulated markets with the potential ability to leverage a creative financing solution. Our team is supporting and educating the horticulture market by keeping our fingers on the pulse of what is happening in that marketplace.
“In my role at Current and in my dozen-plus years of experience doing utility rebates, we deliver, with Hort Americas, an approach that maximizes the customer experience in utility engagement. We can leverage with our customers the greatest rebate dollars that might be available to them."
Levitt said geographic location is a major driver in who qualifies for a utility rebate and how many rebate dollars are available for specific projects.
“Geography is absolutely a driver of these rebates,” Levitt said. “Agencies, whether they are state or federal, or electric utility companies, and the traditional rebate type programs that people are familiar with, present different opportunities for growers depending upon what they’re producing, what the scope of their work looks like, and where their facility is located across North America.”
Levitt said scope of work refers to what the project might look like. “This could be a greenhouse, warehouse, a renovation, or new construction,” he said. “This also includes whether LED lamps or tubes are being replaced or new fixtures are being installed. We also help support our customers to make sure they leverage all eligible rebate measures. A project could have a much larger scope where a whole building analysis might make sense."
“Current works with Hort Americas are to support and leverage the greatest rebate eligibility opportunity based upon what the customer might qualify for. This applies to whatever type of facility it is, wherever it is located, and whatever barriers - if there are any - based on the facility’s geography might be present.”
Read the complete article at www.hortamericas.com.