Southern Company deploys electric, semi-autonomous lawn mowers at power plants
Southern Company is constantly evaluating new technologies and collaborating with emerging clean tech companies, both to benefit customers and to modernize our business. One such collaboration is the recent engagement with Scythe Robotics for the deployment of their company’s commercial-grade, all-electric semi-autonomous mowers at Plants Bowen, Wansley, Yates, Wilson, McManus and Mitchell.
Scythe semi-autonomous lawn mower
The Scythe mowers are emissions-free and designed to maintain high productivity and improved quality of cut while enhancing worker safety. With zero emissions, the robotic mowers have the potential to offer a more sustainable and environmentally friendly solution for the maintenance of plant grounds.
The 20-horsepower machines feature eight cameras and a suite of sensors that enable them to operate safely in environments that could include the occasional presence of humans or animals in addition to existing trees and shrubs. The mowers stop for people and animals and automatically mow around trees and other obstacles. They also sense grass thickness and adjust mowing speed as needed.
The robots have worked flawlessly with existing level 2 chargers for speedy charging. The state-of-the-art mowers also capture property and mower performance data that can potentially be leveraged to improve workflow, schedule for efficiency, and to more effectively manage the labor costs of our landscaping contractors.
Colorado-based Scythe Robotics is a portfolio company of Energy Impact Partners (EIP.) Founded in 2015 by Southern Company and other utilities, EIP is the largest utility-backed clean tech investor coalition in the world with over $4.5 billion in assets under management across a platform of diversified strategies. Southern Company is an investor in several funds across the platform.
Southern Company’s engagement with EIP is instrumental in helping us keep a finger on the pulse of the clean tech ecosystem and advance innovative solutions for the benefit of customers as well as our own operations.