Cutting grass the green way: Bethesda woman grows Solar Mowing — Gazette.Net

Dan Gross/The Gazette

I come from a long line of entrepeneurs, says Lyn DeWitt, who founded Solar Mowing, a Bethesda company that uses solar-powered mowers and trimmers. Working behind her are her daughter Anna Kelly and employees David Jimenez and Dylan Reilly. A solar panel on the trucks roof charges the equipment.

Before Lyn DeWitt used to mow her lawn, she would take her children inside her Bethesda house and shut the windows to escape the mowers fumes and loud motor. As the communications director for the Audubon Naturalist Society and generally an environmentally aware citizen, DeWitt decided that she had enough of the gasoline-powered mower.

Thats when she decided to harness the same sun that helped the lawn grow in the first place and her company, Solar Mowing, was born.

In 2009, DeWitt bought her first battery-powered mower for roughly $400. Although it cost about $200 more than the average gasoline mower, she said it was worth the investment because it was quiet, convenient and did not pollute the air. She then found a small company in Virginia that outfitted her truck with a photovoltaic solar panel and storage batteries. Thanks to the solar panels, she could charge her mower all day as she worked.

I come from a long line of entrepeneurs who always had their own businesses, so it felt very natural for me to start a business out of this, DeWitt said. My uncles had a lawn equipment business, my father sold Christmas trees in the winter and flowers in the spring and summer, and my uncle owned a small fruit farm.

She invested about $30,000 on the truck, solar panels, mowers and other equipment. She enlisted the help of her 14-year-old daughter, Anna, and several young adults.

Since 2009, the company has grown to six mowers, eight trimmers, three trucks with solar panels and a dozen employees. A year ago, it was certified by the Montgomery County Green Business Certification Program, signifying its effective environmental stewardship. It received a runner-up award at Bethesda Greens gala in 2011 in a category recognizing local green services.

According to the Solar Mowing website, the company abides by a few distinctive standards. First, it mows, not according to a set schedule, but when it is best for the lawn.

Lyn is mowing the lawn so its best for the lawn in the long term, unlike some services who just do it on a schedule and theyre not really thinking about the best interest of your lawn, said Andrea Witt of Bethesda, a customer for three years.

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