Homestead Enterprises Solar Design & Renewable Energy Products Stephen Heckeroth Box 151 Road Albion, CA 95410 Phone/FAX 707-937-0338 e-mail: steve@renewables.com              November 1998 Dear electric tractor enthusiast, I am sending you this letter because you have expressed interest in electric tractors. I am currently looking for potential buyers, investors and input on niche markets, as well as people and organizations who are willing to do field testing. It is becoming obvious that the developed world's reliance on petroleum for transportation and agricultural production is not sustainable. Sustainability requires a transition to the use of non-polluting renewable energy sources. The daily energy income from the sun is approximately equal to the energy available from the world's entire petroleum resource. This means that direct use of solar energy is a feasible alternative. The following pages suggest the tremendous potential solar charged electric tractors offer in a variety of applications all over the world. I have been working on alternatives to fossil fuel use in both my private and professional life since 1970. I have a degree in architecture and I have been designing and building solar homes for the past 25 years. My homestead is powered by a 3 kW photovoltaic array. It provides enough energy to charge the batteries of my electric car and electric tractor for the 8 months of the year that correspond to the growing season. In 1992 I started an electric vehicle company. After doing several electric vehicle conversions a search for a light weight chassis turned up a fiberglas replica kit of the 1955 Porsche Spyder. The electrification of these kits was very successful. The Electric Spyders I produced won many rallies and races. The high performance version did 0 to 60 mph in 8 seconds, topped out at 130 mph, and had 120 mile range at 45 mph with inexpensive and recyclable golf cart batteries. I have used tractors and heavy equipment in both construction and agriculture and have always been bothered by the noise and pollution they produce, as well as the inconvenience of refueling and constant maintenance they require. This is why I started working on electric tractors about 5 years ago. Battery weight is the biggest drawback with most electric vehicles but in a tractor the weight becomes an asset. It provides added traction. The fact that electric tractors can be charged from on site renewable sources eliminates the need for extraction and distribution of fossil fuels. This is particularly important in developing countries that have not yet created a fossil fuel infrastructure. If an electric tractor is combined with photovoltaic charging, either on the tractor itself or on the roof of a building, no other refueling infrastructure is necessary. Equipped with an on-board AC inverter the electric tractor also has great potential as a power source in remote areas and in emergency situations. Electric vehicles are also well suited to remote control applications, such as mine sweeping. By using industrial batteries every component in the electric tractor will operate with very little maintenance for 15 to 20 years. Many electric forklifts have been in operation for 50 years while their gas counterparts last only 5 to 10 years. The only obstacles I see to the mass acceptance of both photovoltaics and electric vehicles are the inertia of convention and the expense of low volume production. Finally, these electric tractors will not require large capital intensive manufacturing facilities but can be assembled in any small shop. Following are the tractor's specifications and performance information. Price will be vary dependent on quantity. The estimated cost for a tractor in limited production is $25,000. I hope you will see the potential that solar charged electric tractors offer for increased productivity without diminished environmental quality. I look forward to any input you may have. Sincerely,      -- Stephen Heckeroth

OUR FUTURE IS ONLY AS SUSTAINABLE AS THE TOOLS WE USE TO GET THERE

About the Solar Electric Tractor Designer and Inventor      Stephen Heckeroth has been working on alternatives to fossil fuel use in both his private and professional life since 1970. He has a degree in architecture and has been designing and building solar homes for the past 25 years. In 1975, he founded Homestead Enterprises to sell and install renewable energy products. In 1992, he started an electric vehicle company and after doing several electric vehicle conversions, he built a line of electric fiberglas kit cars based on the James Dean 550 Porsche. The electric Porsche Spyder replicas have a 120 mile range, a top speed of 110 mph, and go 0 to 60 in 8 seconds. His personal transportation is an electric Type III Karman Ghia with a 70 mile range.      His company has been doing electric tractor conversions since 1993, and has become an internationally recognized consultant on industrial and agricultural electric equipment. In 1996-97, Ford-New Holland commissioned Homestead Enterprises to build an electric tractor prototype. In 1997-98, a Japanese company, Eifrig Ltd. of Nagoya, commissioned another prototype. A fully functional design of the solar electric tractor was completed in July of 1998 and several provisional patent applications filed in August of 1998.      Heckeroth is also internationally known for his expertise in solar building design. He received a national design award in 1992. His work has appeared on television and in print in the US, Canada, Europe, and Japan. He frequently gives lectures at educational institutions and trade conferences. He is a founding Board Member of Solar Connections, a California 501 C3 Established to promote solar energy. Heckeroth lives with his family in Northern California on a homestead that is powered by a 3 kW roof integrated photovoltaic array. The sun provides enough energy to charge the batteries of his electric cars and tractors for the eight months of the year that correspond to the growing season and power his home all year long. Market strategy      The Solar Electric Tractor will not require large capital intensive manufacturing facilities, but can be assembled in any small shop. Consequently , minimal time and investment is needed to get the tractor to the market. Furthermore, the solar electric tractor's PTO and 3-point -hitch are fully compatible will existing Category I implements. The challenge of getting any new product to the market is increasing quantity to decrease price. Homestead Enterprises is actively pursuing funding options to offset the high initial cost of low volume production, and is anxious to hear from people and organizations interested in investing, buying, or field testing the Solar Electric Tractor now or in the future.

GET S.E.T. FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

Steve Heckeroth Homestead Enterprises: Solar Design and Renewable Energy Products Box 151 Albion, CA 95410 phone/FAX 707-937-0338     EMail Us! tractor@renewables.com

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