The Jockey Club Kau Sai Chau Public Golf Course in Hong Kong prides itself on its green credentials. It has the world's first and biggest fleet of solar-cell powered golf carts. The SolarDrive golf carts will also lead to substantial savings for the club.

[Cameron Halliday, The Jockey Club Kau Sai Chau]:
"We estimated that we would save 50-70 percent on power consumption of the fleet... We anticipate that every year we'll save HK$400,000 (US$51,610) on the operation of the 205 car fleet. Those are impressive numbers.”

The SolarDrive project is part of a $45 million citywide environment project in response to global warming and climate change. The golf club estimates that the switch to solar power golf carts will reduce carbon emissions by up to 30 tons per year.

[David Powers, Golfer]:
"Many more steps like this would be wonderful, address our air pollution problem and make Hong Kong a much greater city than it already is, so it's a very good step."

The SolarDrive has a solar-cell roof panel and is able to capture and convert daylight into sufficient energy, even on cloudy days. The cart charges while being driven.

[William Yiu, Exec. Dir., Hong Kong Jockey Club]:
"So when the golf carts come back after an 18-hole day the charging at night will still have to happen but it will be a lot less requirement as far as the recharge is concerned. And having less recharge every night, the battery actually runs a lot longer, so from that perspective it's actually commercially viable."

The SolarDrive is more efficient and can out-perform battery-powered carts.

The solar powered golf carts are also a hit with patrons.

[Charles Regan, Golfer]:
"It's a great idea. You’ve got plenty of sun and they can easily run four hours very quickly, running through the course. I think many golf courses should adopt the same thing. They're fantastic!"

Earlier this year, the golf course received the 'Asian Golf Course Environment Award’.

The project is collaboration between a Hong Kong university and Denmark-based engineering company SolarDrive.