Ransomes rolls out new solar-powered mower canopy

Ransomes Jacobsen has developed a solar canopy for a ride-on mower that can add almost an extra third of power to the vehicle, it says. The kit maker teamed up with Danish company SunDrive to create the flat canopy on top of an all-electric version of the Jacobsen Eclipse 322 greens mower. The driver parks the vehicle outside to capture the sun s rays to supplement conventional charging to produce enough additional energy to increase the kit s range up to 30 per cent. Experts threaded mono-crystalline solar cells through high-transmission tempered glass, said Ransomes director of marketing and product management Richard Comely. "We see significant benefit for our clients," he said. "With fuel prices rising and increasing focus on the golf sector to reduce its environmental impact we continue to look at how to mitigate kit lifetime running costs." The technology, trialed on mainland Europe, showed promising results, said Comely. Grounds staff at Hubbeltrath Golf Club in Germany could cut 19 greens and 800m 2 of undulated putting green in solar-power mode.

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