By Jeff Pope (contact)

Fri, Aug 22, 2008 (midnight)

Every time Robert Maroney started his gas-powered lawn mower, it belched out a gray puff of smoke.

So when the 55-year-old Henderson man heard the county was offering to exchange gas mowers for non-polluting electric ones, Maroney saw a chance to do his part for clean air.

“You see all these efforts to reduce pollution and most are not tangible for the average person. This was for me,” he said.

Las Vegas Valley homeowners snapped up the chance to go green for their lawns. The county sold out of its 1,000 electric mowers in two weeks, which was two months earlier than expected, said Robert Tekniepe, of the Clark County Department of Air Quality and Environmental Management.

“The interest and participation in the program went beyond our wildest dreams,” he said.

The exchange of 1,000 gasoline-powered lawn mowers for electric mowers has the potential of reducing volatile organic compound emissions by 9.8 tons per year, which is equivalent to removing 230 cars from the highways, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Operating a typical gasoline-powered lawn mower for one hour produces the same amount of smog-forming hydrocarbons as driving an average care almost 200 miles under typical driving conditions.

Maroney also was able to get rid of his gas can and no longer needs to buy oil or tune-ups for his mower.

The Neuton CE 5.2 electric mowers run on a 24-volt, 10-amp rechargeable battery that will keep the motor running for up to 60 minutes fully charged. The 48-pound mower is easier to push than a self-propelled gas mower and just as maneuverable, Maroney said.

The only downside so far, he said, is the 14-inch blade is smaller than most gas-powered models so it requires more laps.

Larger blade electric mowers are available but the program administrators didn’t see the need for large machines in Southern Nevada.

“Electric lawn mowers more applicable here because we have postage stamp-size lawns,” Tekniepe said. “But for commercial operations, electric lawn mowers might not be conducive for cutting large parcels.”

In addition to recycling an older gas mower, participants paid $99, which included the shipping to their homes.

The mowers’ suggested retail price is about $400 but the county received a Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles grant to reduce the cost. The $200,000 grant was funded by a portion of the smog check program.

The quick success of the program has the county considering offering 2,000 mowers next spring, Tekniepe said.

Jeff Pope can be reached at 990-2688 or jeff.pope@hbcpub.com.