Electric equipment holds many benefits for tree care professionals, but there are also challenges that may prompt some to wait until this segment of the market has further matured.
The State of Electric As tree care rapidly electrifies, practical considerations about heavy equipment give buyers pause There are numerous benefits to going electric, but performance challenges, a lack of infrastructure, and higher upfront costs may prevent the industry from fully converting By Katherine Gustafson
developments continued apace, and soon thereaer, more equipment with compatible use in the tree care industry started going electric, too. In 2020, Toro introduced the first battery-powered compact skid steer, the eDingo 500, and in 2022 brought out the Ultra Buggy e2500, a battery-powered material handler. Both machines can run for eight hours straight with zero emissions.
As equipment and vehicles across all industries — from sedans to 13-ton trucks — go electric, the con- tours of a coming transformation in the tree care in- dustry are taking shape. Many arborists have already enthusiastically adopted electric versions of tools such as chainsaws. And elec- tric versions of larger equipment are rapidly coming to the market. Electric equipment holds many benefits for tree care professionals, but there are also challenges that may prompt some to wait until this segment of the market has further matured. MOVING TOWARD ELECTRIC The arborist and forestry industries are benefiting from the advancement of electric equipment in the construction industry, which has been progressing rapidly since Volvo Construction Equipment and JCB began releasing such offerings in 2019. In Europe, the ZE85, an eight-ton class battery-op- erated excavator released by Hitachi Construction Machinery in 2020, was used in a pilot project for zero-emissions construction sites in Oslo. Further
Toro’s eDingo 500 electric mini skid steer offers zero-exhaust emissions, less noise, and an eight-hour continuous runtime
The arborist and forestry industries are benefiting from the advancement of electric equipment in the construction industry
ArborTIMES Spring 2024 | 7
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