Moreton Bay Regional Council Going Green As It Grows – And Mows

Queensland’s Moreton Bay Regional Council is purchasing two solar power assisted ride-on electric mowers to help maintain its green spaces.

Part of Council’s commitment to going green and Mayor Pete Flannery’s vision of the organisation becoming one of the most environmentally friendly councils in Australia, funding for the two mowers has been allocated in Council’s 2022-23 Budget after having tested the mowers.

“They have seven hours of battery life, no emissions and less than half the noise of regular mowers, so people living near our green spaces will quickly notice the difference,” says Mayor Flannery.

While the brand/model of mowers acquired isn’t mentioned in Council’s media release, a video indicates it’s the Rival from US company Mean Green Mowers. We recently reported Sydney’s Camden Council purchased one of these beasts. The difference with Moreton Bay Council’s mowers is they’ll have solar panels on their canopies.

Solar Energy *Assisted* Mowing

“The great thing about these mowers is they’re fitted with solar panels on the roof. So, they actually power the mower while our workers mow the grass of our parks, our green spaces, our verges and more,” says Mayor Flannery in a video about the acquisition posted yesterday.

That needs a bit of clarification – “help power” may have been a better choice of words. The rooftop solar panel is a rather pricey addition offering 200W capacity, and apparently only adds an extra 20 minutes of mowing time each day assuming good conditions. The cost vs. benefit of the canopy panel is debatable, but it certainly sends a very visible and positive green message.

But Mayor Flannery also mentions the “use of solar roof panels for their overnight battery charging”. Assuming this isn’t just the mower canopy panel he’s referring to, rooftop solar panels won’t be putting any charge into the mowers’ batteries overnight of course, but perhaps a Council PV installation will be offsetting the electricity used for charging.

These mowers will certainly see a good workout, helping Council manage and maintain the 100 million square metres of parks, gardens, trails, fire breaks and nature reserves across Moreton Bay.

“In summer, parks and gardens are mowed an average of once every two weeks!,” says the Mayor.

As well as the mowers, Council is investing in new electric pruning saws, an eBike for inspecting footpaths and a Hyundai Ioniq electric vehicle.

“I’m sure that residents will appreciate not only the peace and quiet that comes with these investments – but also the emission reductions that flow from the technology.”

Council’s green power ambitions aren’t limited to grounds maintenance. It has installed solar panels on 16 community buildings to date, has a program to convert methane gas to electricity at its waste facilities, and has held discussions with Tesla about installing a Tesla Megapack battery system at the Bunya Waste site. A Tesla Megapack has 3 megawatt-hours of storage capacity per unit.

Moreton Bay Council is a member of the Cities Power Partnership, and as part of that partnership has pledged various commitments relating to renewable energy.

Original Source: https://www.solarquotes.com.au/blog/moreton-green-mowing-mb2531/