COLUMBUS, OH – The City of Columbus recently took delivery of 14 propane-powered mowers. The City received a rebate from the Propane Education and Research Council (PERC) in the amount of $14,000 for the purchases, “greatly reducing the incremental in costs for ‘alternative’ fuel units,” according to Kelly Reagan, fleet administrator for the City.

PERC is a non-profit trade organization advocating for the use of propane. PERC’s Propane Mower Incentive Program was developed as a research and demonstration program and offers a monetary incentive to participate. PERC will use the program to acquire performance data documenting the effectiveness of equipment based on “real-world” usage.

PERC accepted the City of Columbus’s application for the program for 14 mowers (12 for Parks and Recreation and 2 for Planning and Operations). The program provides an incentive of $1,000 per propane mower purchased. As a participant, the City of Columbus will provide PERC with data about the use and performance of the mowers for one mowing season (3 months) including tracking data on fuel consumption, hours of operation, cost savings, and other information requested by PERC.  Updates will be submitted electronically as requested by PERC.

Reagan said he learned about the Propane Mower Incentive Program at the 2012 Green Fleet Conference.