CRANBERRY TWP — The township is putting off purchasing a new fleet of golf carts for at least a year while it waits for battery technology to further develop.

The township's 80 golf carts used at Cranberry Highlands Golf Course were due to be replaced this year. However, Jason Kratsas, director of engineering and environmental services, asked supervisors to put off the purchase for a year.

Instead of buying carts with traditional lead acid batteries, Kratsas recommended they buy carts with new lithium batteries.

“What we'd like to do is give that technology one more year to work the kinks out and find another way to get through this season,” he said.

The board voted Jan. 25 to reject all bids it received in December to purchase the carts, sell the current fleet at public auction for no less than $136,000 and enter a one-year lease to replace the fleet for no more than $48,000.

While the charge life on the lithium batteries is the same, the batteries themselves last longer than lead acid batteries, Kratsas said, and would probably last for the full 5-year life cycle of the carts.