How New York Landscapers Receive Electric Equipment Rebate

If you run a landscaping business in New York, switching to battery-powered equipment could soon cost a little less and put a little more in your pocket.

Governor Kathy Hochul has signed a law creating a statewide rebate program for commercial landscapers and organizations that buy new, emission-free lawn equipment. The idea is to help them replace some of those loud, gas-powered machines we hear in neighborhoods, parks, and schoolyards.

How Do You Get The Rebate?

Rebates will be available at the point of sale, so eligible buyers will see the savings when they purchase or lease the equipment. Battery-powered lawn mowers, leaf blowers, leaf vacuums, chainsaws, and snow blowers can qualify, along with related batteries and chargers.

This isn't just for landscaping companies. State and local agencies, school districts, private schools, universities, and nonprofits are also eligible. The equipment must come from a store or online retailer, rather than a private seller.

Why The Rebates?

Hochul says the program is meant to make cleaner, quieter equipment more affordable for small businesses and communities. It could also help cut the air pollution produced by gas-powered lawn machines.

There are still details to work out. The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority will decide the rebate amounts and total funding, so there is no dollar figure to put on the savings just yet.

Once the program is running, rebates will be first come, first served until the money runs out. NYSERDA will post the remaining funding online and report each year on how the money was spent. The program is set to expire January 1, 2036.