Green Commercial Lawn Mowers
Advances in electric batteries are driving our cars to a quiet, clean, energy-efficient future, and increasingly batteries are replacing fossil fuels and motorized equipment like lawnmowers. On top of that, innovative charging solutions are giving a second life to electric vehicle battery packs, and a whole new meaning to growing green.
There are 40 to 50 million acres of lawn grass in the U.S., making it technically the largest irrigated crop in the country. And an estimated 56 million lawn mowers are keeping all of those yards and golf courses trimmed.
If you consider that in one hour, a single gasoline-powered mower produces the same amount of emissions as driving 11 cars, and that an estimated 17 million gallons of gas are spilled each year while refueling lawn equipment, then maintaining our green spaces in the current manner isn’t doing any favors for the rest of the planet.
Which is why electric-powered lawn equipment is gaining favor with eco-conscious homeowners and forward-thinking commercial lawn care services.
The city of Burlington, Vermont has bought into the advantages of battery power, and is encouraging others to do the same.
DARREN SPRINGER: We at Burlington Electric are promoting electrification in many technology areas. We have electric vehicle programs, electric bike, electric bus, cold climate heat pumps for heating and cooling, and as part of that we also are promoting electric lawn mowers, both commercial scale, and residential. And we have rebate programs to support those, and we’re really doing it because our customers can save money, uh, when they mow electric compared to mowing with a gas mower. It's better for the environment for a variety of reasons, and it’s also quieter, so it’s better for our neighborhoods as well. 
JOHN DAVIS: Consumer-grade electric mowers, blowers and trimmers are available in most big-box home improvement stores, and are cost-competitive with gas-powered models right off the shelf.
Larger commercial units, with their higher capacity batteries, may cost a bit more up front, but lower fuel and maintenance costs can pay that back and generate bottom-line savings in 3 or 4 years.
Burlington's incentive program offers up to $100 dollars for homeowners and $3500 for commercial operators who purchase electric lawn mowers. It has become their most popular rebate program, and other cities are starting to follow suit.
Blue Roof Foundation, a Dallas-based non-profit, educates consumers and pros on the tremendous potential of battery-powered lawn equipment, and came up with a unique battery recharging solution to aid in the transition.
Blue Roof has created this prototype trailer, equipped with lithium-ion modules re-purposed from a Nissan Leaf battery pack. It allows a typical lawn care crew to swap and recharge equipment batteries on location, and power through a full day of mowing without burning, or spilling, a drop of gas.
CARLOS OJEDA: The whole idea of the trailer is to really carry, store, and plug in one power cord that recharges everything inside. So the whole idea is that, during the work day, they can just come back, swap batteries, just like they were switching and refueling gasoline.
JOHN DAVIS: The high-energy battery packs that propel electric vehicles may lose capacity over time, yet still produce enough kilowatt-hours of power for less-demanding uses.
CARLOS OJEDA: Our main mission is really to reduce pollution by reducing the usage of small gas engines and switch that to electric. It just happens that, by repurposing the Leaf batteries, we’re actually at the same time, delaying the time that those batteries will end up in a landfill. So we’re giving them a second life as an effect of all this. So, it’s part of our mission, but the most important one is really to reduce pollution.
JOHN DAVIS: Reducing air and noise pollution while saving money is a win-win-win proposition. So, when it’s time to replace that old mower in your shed, remember that mowing clean can preserve the green all around us.
Waste Not Want Not
JOHN DAVIS: The concept of renewable fuels made from non-petroleum sources has a long history. Indeed, over the last four decades, we’ve seen how renewable fuels have been used with great success as sustainable alternatives to traditional gasoline and diesel. So, we thought we’d check out three examples where fast responses rely on reliable fuels, and see how green solutions are leading the way forward!
Our first stop is Vancouver, Washington, where the city’s fire department has made the switch to renewable diesel for its 27 fire trucks, engines and EMS squads. Also called RD or R99, renewable diesel is not the same as biodiesel. It is refined from plant oils and animal fats to become chemically identical to conventional diesel, which biodiesel is not. R99 performs better in cold weather and can be used without modification in any diesel vehicle.
The process of burning carbon soot out of a conventional diesel’s exhaust particulate filter, known as regen, can take a truck out of service for several hours over the course of a week. Using R99 instead, less soot builds up, increasing the regen intervals and requiring a less intense regen procedure.
The Vancouver Fire Department responds to 51,000 emergency calls each year, so every minute of downtime in the shop can be the difference between life and death.
CHUCK WINKLER: These vehicles have to work 100% of the time, all the time. So, reliability is our number one… Safety and reliability is our number one goal here, and R99 has really helped with that 100% reliability.
JOHN DAVIS: Then there is UPSA, one of world’s largest delivery fleets with 125,000 vehicles. UPS obtains nearly 40% of their transportation fuel from low-carbon sources, and has driven over 4 billion miles on alternative fuels. They are also the largest consumer of renewable natural gas in the transportation industry.
AL MURAT: While electric cars, electric vehicles, Es are going to play an important role, right now CNG and RNG is one of the important bridge points to getting there. So, rather than wait for those alternatives to grow in technology, we’re leveraging RNG right now as one of the best solutions.
JOHN DAVIS: RNG, also known as biomethane, is derived from decomposing organic matter at landfills, wastewater treatment plants, livestock farms, and food production facilities. RNG is interchangeable with conventional natural gas and can be used in existing pipelines.
This renewable natural gas fueling station at UPS’ eastern zone hub in Pennsylvania, is the largest in the UPS network. It services 220 tractors and 150 delivery vehicles, displacing 8 million gallons of diesel fuel per year. Renewable natural gas literally turns waste into clean energy, and is helping big brown deliver on its longtime commitment to go green.
Whenever a green flag drops, the extreme conditions of motorsports competition have long served as a testing ground and accelerator for technological development, and that now includes sustainability. Race organizers around the world have set a goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2030, and aim to reduce race-related emissions by 30%. The world endurance challenge series, which includes the 24 Hours of Le Mans, now runs on a 100% renewable fuel derived from grape residue.
In a sport where lightning fast reflexes and instant throttle response can mean the difference between first place and also ran, a stable, power-dense fuel is a must, and you gotta admit, running race cars on wine is pretty dang cool!
These three sustainable petroleum substitutes are all winning formulas, ones we will be keeping an eye on.