FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 8/12/20
PBS’ MotorWeek to Highlight Vermont’s Electric Lawn Mowers
Burlington, VT: PBS’ MotorWeek is coming to Burlington’s Waterfront this Friday, August 14, from 9-11 am to film a feature on the electric lawn mower movement that is sweeping through Vermont.
In 2018, the Vermont Clean Cities Coalition at The University of Vermont’s Transportation Research Center worked with Steven Wisbaum, owner of Eco-Equipment Supply Co., Green Mountain Power (GMP) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to compile data on fuel consumption rates for commercial lawn mowers. The data revealed that one electric lawn mower:
- Displaces between 500-1,000 gallons of fossil fuel
- Reduce CO2 emissions by 5 – 10 tons per year in Vermont
Accordingly, GMP developed the first-in-Vermont purchase incentive for commercial electric lawn equipment. GMP’s incentive program helped spawn incentives from utilities around the state for their customers to purchase electric mowers. Since Vermont’s utilities started offering these financial incentives, commercial and residential electric mowers have grown in popularity amongst the state’s residents and contractors. In addition to utility incentives, Vermont State Employees Credit Union (VSECU), a credit union for everyone in Vermont, offers low-cost financing residential electric mowers through their VGreen Loan program. VSECU also offers business loans for electric mowers at 3.75% fixed rate for a 5-year term.
MotorWeek’s film crew will be at the Burlington Waterfront this Friday, August 14, to get footage of the City of Burlington’s Mean Green Rival-60, 36 horsepower zero-turn electric mower, as well as to hear from various users and supporters of electric mowers. Representatives from the Burlington Electric Department, Burlington Parks, Recreation and Waterfront, and Churchill Landscapes will all be on hand to share their experiences with electric mowers. MotorWeek is a year-round, half-hour television show that is broadcast nationally on over 200 PBS network affiliates. The show originated in 1981 and has been on continuously ever since.