Alternative-powered equipment generating little interest
By Chris Woodyard
USA Today
From all-terrain vehicles to snow blowers, makers of powered outdoor equipment are joining the auto industry in looking at alternative energy to deal with increasingly tough environmental rules.
But early efforts haven't produced rousing results. Alternative-powered machines "are not economical to produce at this time," says James McNew, vice president of the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute, a trade group.
Plus, it's not clear that consumers are willing to pay more for greener equipment or change their fueling habits.
The response has been tepid for the propane-powered mower made by Dixie Chopper, a Coatesville, Ind.-based maker of high-end riding mowers. "It's like anything else. The first one that comes out, everyone wants to shy away" from it, says media marketing manager Rick Judy.
To try to drum up sales, the company drove one of the mowers cross-country, arriving at the steps of California's state capitol in Sacramento last month.
With some outdoor equipment potentially far dirtier than cars or trucks, the industry is under pressure to cut emissions. In April the Environmental Protection Agency proposed new rules that would require 35 percent cuts in hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxide for lawn mowers, personal watercraft and other equipment powered by small engines. For gasoline engines, that could mean fitting them with catalytic converters like those in cars.
Costs of the changeover could add $47 to the price of a lawn tractor, $280 for an outboard engine and $360 for a personal watercraft, the EPA estimates.
Environmentalists support fighting pollution by finding alternative-energy sources for small engines, not just focusing on cars and trucks. "If we're going to move ourselves off oil and have good air quality, we have to deal with everything," says Brendan Bell of the Sierra Club's Energy Program.
Some of the alternative-fuel equipment that manufacturers are trying out:
The $9,299 ATV was tested on a biodiesel made from vegetable oil or animal fat. The fuel produced fewer carbon-dioxide, hydrocarbon, carbon-monoxide and particulate emissions.
Toro says all its diesel-powered golf course and grounds equipment will be capable of handling biodiesel by next year.
The three carts will be used by the Niagara Falls and Beaver Island state parks to shuttle workers and grounds equipment, haul lawn equipment, and for snow removal and trash cleanup. They were built with the help of a $380,000 state research grant.
The point of introducing the mower two years ago wasn't just to be ecological. The mower features electric cutting reels that reduce hydraulic fluid leaks, which kill grass. The electric drive is also quieter and more fuel efficient. The engine powers an alternator which supplies the current needed to turn three cutting reels. "It's been wildly popular," says Deere spokesman Ken Golden. "When it goes into electric mode, it can be very quiet," a big plus on a golf course.
