Greening the region one mow at a time

Two solar-powered ride-on mowers are driving Moreton Bay Regional Council’s push to “go green as we grow”.

Mayor Peter Flannery says the mowers will help manage and maintain 100ha of parks, gardens, trails, fire breaks and nature reserves across the region.

|“Council isn’t just ‘going green as we grow’, we’re also ‘going green as we mow’."|

“We’ve tested two electric mowers that are now ready to be deployed in local parks," he says.

Reducing noise pollution

“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.”

Mayor Flannery says the batteries will be charged using electricity from solar roof panels, making the mowers even more environmentally friendly.

|“Two mowers might not sound like a big deal, but when you think about the 100 million sqm of parks and gardens in Moreton Bay we have to maintain, every effort counts.”|

He says that in summer, parks and gardens are mowed an average of once every two weeks.

“In addition to the new mowers, we’re also investing in new electric pruning saws, an eBike for inspecting footpaths and a Hyundai Ioniq that’s quickly becoming one of the most popular cars in the Council fleet.

“We have an ambitious program to convert methane gas to energy at our waste facilities, with plans to add a massive Tesla battery to store the green energy.”