Electric Equipment Initiative Rolls On

Several years ago we began a program utilizing fully electric equipment on our golf course that we called the Electric Equipment Initiative.  We needed a new mower for the clubhouse grounds recently, so sticking with our philosophy of reducing fuel use and carbon emissions, we purchased the EGO Lithium-ion battery powered mower from The Home Depot.

The EGO mower is a fully electric 21inch self propelled mower powered by a 56 volt lithium-ion rechargeable battery that will run for about one hour and will fully recharge in an hour.  The biggest question we had was, Would the mower have enough power to mow around the entire clubhouse on a single charge?  We are pleased to say that the mower has enough power to do the job and then some.

The EGO mower is great.  It is quiet so we are not disrupting golfers, guests, or clubhouse employees while we are mowing around the clubhouse.  It is lightweight so we really don't even have to use the self propel function if we don't want to.  It continues to help us save fuel, eliminate the possible environmental contamination with oils or fluids and eliminates the emission of harmful carbon emissions.  It looks really cool as well...it has headlights so we can silently mow in the dark if we choose.

The EGO mower, since it doesn't have any fluids or gas in it to spill out, can be stored in almost any position.  The mower folds up easily to about the size of a 50 pound bag of seed and can be stored out of the way, up against a wall to save space.

The purchase of this fully electric push mower brings our electric equipment project "full circle".  After all. it was an electric lawnmower used by Ms. Lori Munkeboe's neighbor early on a weekend morning that got the conversation about utilizing fully electric equipment on our golf course started.  This mower is just another great addition to our fleet and we hope to add more electric elements to our toolbox in the future.

We are excited and honored to be able to detail the history and success of our Electric Equipment Initiative in this month's Golf Course Management magazine in an article "Can You Hear Me Now?" starting on page 46.  I have had the pleasure of telling our story to several organizations across the country over the past several years and I hope this article will be able to reach many more and get them thinking about the advantages of using fully electric equipment to maintain their golf course.  This was a fun article to write and I have to say thanks to everyone who helped me complete this article and get it in print.

If you have any questions about using electric equipment on your course, or possibly, at your home please let me know.  If I can be of any assistance I will gladly answer any questions that I can.

Earth Day 2014 at The Bear Trace at Harrison Bay

What better way to celebrate Earth Day 2014 than to spend it with about 50 friends promoting the environmentally sustainable efforts of the golf course industry.  Even though it drizzled from time to time during the day we had a great turnout of TDEC officials, community friends, golf course industry members, equipment manufacturers, and local, state, and national media.  All here to discuss how golf courses can beneficially contribute to the environment.

Before lunch we had time for people to gather, talk, and look at our Jacobsen ECLIPSE 322 electric mowers.  Some, non golf course people, were brave enough to take them out for a spin on the putting green.  All were amazed at how quiet they are and how easy it is to operate them.

After lunch, Deputy Commissioner Brock Hill kicked off the presentations detailing how the Tennessee Golf Trail and Tennessee State Parks contribute to the sustainability of the environment within Tennessee.  He then introduced Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation Commissioner Bob Martineau (pictured) who started his presentation with our department "motto" that "Every day is Earth Day at TDEC".  This is true and we strive everyday to make decisions that best limit our impact on the environment and natural resources.

I was very happy that Dr. Jim Brosnan (pictured), Professor of Plant Sciences at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, was able to speak at our event.  Dr. Brosnan spoke to attendees about the role of golf courses in limiting the use of water by allowing naturalized areas to grow on golf courses and how golf courses can protect the waterways by providing buffer strips around the edge of waterways to filter chemicals and fertilizer runoff.  I was also grateful for Dr. Brandon Horvath and my "old" friend Dr. Tom Samples joined us for the day's event.

Our next speaker was Ron Wright, CGCS, Golf Course Superintendents Association of America Southeast Field Rep.  Mr. Wright has a special insight into how golf courses can contribute to the betterment of the environment because he has been in the golf course industry for over 30 years. Mr. Wright gets to see a multitude of golf courses across the southeast each year and had many great stories to tell about how the golf course industry is turning our reputation around from several years ago of being "environmental polluters".

One of the most special things that happened on Earth Day, in my opinion, was when Mr. Wright, on behalf of GCSAA and the Environmental Institute for Golf, presented Ms. Lori Munkeboe, Director of TDEC's Office of Sustainable Practices, a special Certificate of Recognition for her and her offices work on the Electric Equipment Initiative at The Bear Trace at Harrison Bay.  If it were not for Ms. Munkeboe wondering if there was any electric golf course equipment we could use, this celebration at Harrison Bay probably would not have happened.

The last speaker of the day was Mr. David Withers, Jacobsen Worldwide President.  Mr. Withers has a special passion for the environment that I have not seen from another equipment manufacturer.  Mr. Withers spoke to our guests about how equipment has changed over the years and how Jacobsen has embraced the need and desire of golf course superintendents to provide a high quality product while also limiting the strain on natural resources. Jacobsen's commitment to the environment lead to the creation of the fully electric Eclipse 322 mowers, one of the reasons we were able to reduce our gasoline usage by over 9,000 gallons this past year.

Mr. Withers, Paul Carter, Comm. Bob Martineau

Mr. Withers was also gracious enough to present The Bear Trace at Harrison Bay with our certification from Golf Environment Organization or GEO.  Jacobsen was the first equipment manufacturer to see the benefit of promoting environmental sustainability through GEO, so we were thrilled when Mr. Withers volunteered to present our certification.  Being only one of six golf courses in the United States to garner this exclusive environmental certification and having it be awarded on Earth Day was the icing on the cake.

Wildlife Walk group gathered in front of one of
our Operation Pollinator plantings

After the presentations were complete, and even though it was drizzling a bit, Mitch and Bill took our guests on a little "wildlife walk".  Our guests walked down along #10 fairway were Mitch and Bill showed them our wild turkey feeders, our blue bird houses, our wood duck nesting houses, our mallard duck nesting tubes, and finished it up near the Harrison Bay Eagle Cam nesting tree where Harrison Bay State Park Manager Don Campbell and HBSP Ranger Matt Vawter told the guests about the project and allowed them to look at the eagles through a spotting scope and binoculars.  For several of our guests this was the first time they had seen a bald eagle in the wild and were amazed at how beautiful they really are.

The Earth Day Celebration at The Bear Trace at Harrison Bay presented by Jacobsen was a tremendous success and I think we were able to help educate and inform our guests on how golf courses can be, and are, environmental stewards.



A special thanks goes out everyone who decided to spend the day celebrating with us.  We had many state and local officials, community friends, and media from around the nation join us and we could not be happier.

A very special thanks has to go out to Mr. Adam Slick of Jacobsen for thinking of and coordinating the event. Ms. Sharon and Ms. Amy were terrific in organizing the event and being the smart ones who thought of providing umbrellas which came in very helpful to our guests.  Mr. Glenn Gray of We Are Golf and Buffalo Communications did a great job of coordinating with all the media around the world to make sure the event got the maximum amount of coverage possible.

In case you were not able to attend here are some of the media reports on the event

WDEF Chattanooga CBS affiliate "Earth Day and Eagles..."

CNN.com "A golf club with more eagles than most"


Chattanooga Times Free Press "Bear Trace a fitting site for Earth Day Celebration"

50 Days of ZERO EMISSIONS

Today marks our 50th day of Zero Emissions maintenance at The Bear Trace at Harrison Bay.  What a great feeling that is to say.  Except for the fuel used in our backpack blowers ALL golf course maintenance activities are carried out using battery powered electric equipment which produce ZERO point source carbon emissions, use ZERO drops of gasoline, produce ZERO gallons of used motor and/or hydraulic oil, and produce nearly ZERO noise pollution. 

In March of this year we replaced the vast majority of our gasoline powered golf course maintenance equipment with battery powered electric models.  Through the Clean Tennessee Energy Grant funded by the Tennessee Valley Authority through the Office of Sustainable Practices of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation we purchased three Jacobsen Eclipse 322 triplex greensmowers, four Jacobsen Eclipse 322 triplex tee and approach mowers, two Tru-Turf R52 greens rollers, two Smithco Super Star bunker rakes, five Toro Workman MDEs and two Club Car Carry All Turf IIs.  These units make up the bulk of our golf course maintenance fleet and on days like today are the only units used on the golf course. 

When we began looking into the possibility of converting our gasoline powered equipment to electric many questions and concerns came up.  How much fuel usage
can we eliminate?  How much CO2 emissions can we eliminate?  How much will our electricity bill go up?  Can a battery powered mower really cut as well as a gasoline powered mower and can it make it around the golf course without loosing power?  All of these questions were very good ones and we did our best to research the correct answer.  The biggest question though was would the electric equipment perform as we needed it to and would it truly benefit the golf course and the environment.

After five months of using the electric equipment I can say without hesitation that using electric equipment on a golf course is a very, very viable option to gasoline powered equipment.  The equipment has performed well beyond our expectations and to answer a few of the questions above, in the first four months of operation when compared to usage during the same months in 2012 we have eliminated the use of 700.2 gallons of gasoline and eliminated the production of 14,004 point source pounds of CO2.  Our fuel savings for this time frame has been $2,332.73 while our electricity costs are only $1,175.31.  While we have not been able to eliminate all use of gasoline or CO2 emissions on the golf course this is a great start.

The equipment has been a huge hit with the golf course maintenance staff and the golfers.  The quietness of the equipment allows us to carry out our maintenance practices without disturbing the golfers as much as we have in the past with our loud gasoline engine powered units.  We have had many golfers comment about how nice it is not to have to hear the equipment and we get some really strange, but great, looks when we go by them and all you can hear is the sound of the tires on the asphalt.

But the ones who really benefit from the elimination of carbon emissions, the reduction in noise pollution, and the elimination of a possible fuel or oil spill are the ones who call the golf course home.  We don't disturb the wildlife as we travel around the golf course anymore and many times the deer don't even move when we drive by.  At Harrison Bay we know that the golf course is their home and we are only visiting, so if they are happy, then I am happy.


Our Electric Equipment Initiative is just beginning and we hope that others will consider the benefits and the rewards of using alternative energy sources to operate their golf course equipment in the future. 

On to the next 50 days!!!

Golf & Sustainability Article in Superintendent Magazine

For years now the world of the golf course superintendent has been changing from a job solely to keep the grass green and free of weeds to one of maintaining the entire property for the betterment of all involved; the golfers, the community and the environment.  We are very fortunate this month to be on the cover of Superintendent magazine and featured in their article, Branding Golf...With the Environment.  It is very rewarding to see all the hard work put in by the staff at The Bear Trace at Harrison Bay featured in this way.  Below is a link to the magazine (article starts on S4 but there is a lot of good information throughout the magazine).

http://www.superintendent-digital.com/June2013/June2013#&pageSet=0

Electric Equipment Initiative Goes Public

 The Electric Equipment Initiative of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation was officially unveiled yesterday at The Bear Trace at Harrison Bay.  We had a great turn out including representatives from local and state government agencies, local electric boards, equipment manufacutures and distributors, and media representatives among many others.  The event was a great way to present the electric equipment we have purchased and to communicate how we are using this technology to help protect the environment while also reducing our use of fossil fuels and eliminate the creation of point source CO2 emissions.

The event allowed our guests to get up close and personal with the equipment, to look at the battery powered technology, and to ask questions about the project.  We had many great questions asked and hopefully other operations will begin looking at electric equipment as a possible choice.

David Uchiyama of Chattanooga Times Free Press was on hand (he is in the forefront as I try to explain the advantages of the 15 blade cutting unit on the new Jacobsen Eclipse 322  greensmower).  David filed this report on the event this morning.  http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2013/may/22/bear-trace-first-for-all-electric-mowers/

As David states in his article above, we have already seen a significant benefit from converting from gasoline powered equipment to electric equipment and I have to say the performance of the equipment has far exceeded our expectations.  If you haven't looked at electric equipment as a possibility you really need to, especially with the future of lithium battery technology on the horizon.

State Senator Bo Watson (front) and TDEC Commissioner Bob Martineau were present to participate in the unveiling. 

 

 

Ms. Lori Munkeboe, Director of the Office of Sustainable Practices, enjoyed the event by hopping on and trying out one of the mowers.

 

 

Even John Reitman of TurfNet fame got in on the action and took one of the mowers for a spin across the putting green.  Read John's comments about the initiative and event here:  http://www.turfnet.com/page/news.html/_/the-quietest-golf-course-in-southeast-r122

 

Mitch Sivley, Bear Trace Assistant Superintendent, demoed the quietness of the mowers for the group which was a huge hit with all in attendance. 

 

 

Past posts on the Electric Equipment Initiative

 

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Electric Equipment Initiative at The Bear Trace at Harrison Bay

How great for the environment would it be to be able to maintain the golf course without burning a single drop of fuel?  Well, that may seem like a dream but it is one that we are going to chase at Harrison Bay.  In an effort to reduce our impact on the environment through the emission of carbon emitted by our current gasoline engines we are converting the majority of our golf course maintenance equipment to a fully electric battery powered fleet.

This Electric Equipment Initiative, as we like to call it, will involve the replacement of gasoline combustion engines on our greens, tees, approaches, bunker rakes, greens rollers, and our staff utility vehicles with fully, 100% electric equipment.  It will be a total of 19 pieces of equipment which will allow us to maintain the golf course without polluting the air with carbon emissions and will allow us to not disturb our golfers and guests with the operation of loud equipment.

Working with the great people in the Office of Sustainable Practices in the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation we were able to obtain funding from Tennessee State Parks and the Tennessee Valley Authority for this project through the Clean Tennessee Energy grant.  By converting our gasoline burning equipment to all electric equipment we estimate we will reduce our gasoline consumption by over 12,000 gallons, eliminate the emission of over 215,000 pounds of point source carbon, and reduce our maintenance expenses by over $30,000.00.

It has taken a while to get the project off the ground but we are getting very close to seeing it be a reality.  The equipment we chose for the project is the Jacobsen Eclipse 322  triplex mower for greens, tees, and approaches, the Smithco Super Star 48 volt bunker rake, the Tru Turf R52  greens roller, the Toro Workman MDE, and the Club Car Carry All Turf II.  These units will allow us on many days to maintain our golf course without burning a single drop of fuel or emitting a single pound of point source carbon emission.  The goal of the whole project.

We have taken delivery of a couple pieces of equipment last week which have already been placed into service and are operating beyond our expectations.

Mitch is trying out the new Smithco Super Star bunker rake.

Left is a video of Willie operating one of the new fully electric bunker rakes.  Be sure to turn your volume up so you can hear the full experience.

We also chose to replace the staff vehicles with fully electric Toro Workman MDE vehicles.  These vehicles will allow the golf course staff to perform their duties around the golf course quietly so as not to disturb the golfers or the wildlife.  Win Win for everyone.

The Toro Workman MDEs are powered by a powerful 48 volt system which we have already found to have all the power we need to haul fertilizer, sand, and a trailer around the golf course.



We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of the remaining equipment and the onset of spring so we can put it all into operation.  We can already tell that one of the biggest things we are going to have to get used to is not hearing the sound of the gasoline engines as we perform our work but that is something we will gladly get used to.