Public-Private Partnerships

Partnerships between government entities and private companies for the delivery of services or facilities is used for water/wastewater, transportation, urban development and social services, to name a few. The average American city works with private partners to perform 23 out of 65 basic municipal services, according to the National Council for Public-Private Partnerships.

Public-private partnerships can be an attractive tool to provide the capital needed for new initiatives or the construction of major facilities.  In challenging economic times, these collaborations can also provide continued or improved level of service at reduced costs, helping governments to maintain quality services despite budget constraints.

The City of Lancaster has taken partnerships to a new level in their effort to become the solar capital of the world.

They partnered with Solar City to install solar panels on several city facilities and more than two-dozen school sites. The City also partnered with KB Home to launch “Zero House 2.0,” their new zero-net energy house in Lancaster.

Based on Lancaster’s clean-energy reputation and its partnership with the home builder, Build Your Dreams – an expert in solar panels, LED lights, energy-efficiency technologies, residential energy storage and rechargeable batteries, and vehicle manufacturing – the first foreign-owned electric bus manufacturing facility in the U.S., as well as a battery manufacturing plant were opened in Lancaster.

Aligning itself with like-minded green partners has proven successful, Mayor Parris told conference attendees:  The City of Lancaster has been able to exponentially grow its solar project acreage, add new local businesses and hundreds of jobs, and facilitate the ability to generate and sell energy back to the utilities – all with minimal resources in a down economy.

Participants also heard from Greenwise’s  Sarah Leddy about Sacramento’s partnership with the CleanWorld fueling facility at Atlas Disposal to turn food waste into renewable natural gas.  Greenwise is working with local restaurants to divert food waste into fuel.  The City is also launching a residential Food Waste to Energy Pilot Project.