The City of Palm Springs, CA, in partnership with Veolia Water North America Operating Services has received the Outstanding Achievement Award in Public-Private Partnerships from the United States Conference of Mayors (USCM).
In response to California’s electric energy crisis and soaring power costs, Veolia Water acquired two microturbine generators through a grant program from the Southern California Air Quality Management District and funded their installation at Palm Springs’ wastewater treatment plant, which Veolia Water has been operating for the city since 1999. The microturbines efficiently generate electricity on site from natural gas, reducing demand from the local power grid.
“Our public-private partnership with Veolia Water serves as a model for other communities,” said Palm Springs Mayor Ron Oden. “Palm Springs’ operating expenses at the plant have remained stable at a time when the price of electricity has risen over 70 percent. The microturbines reduce the plant’s electric bill by nearly $80,000 per year. We look forward to implementing other cost saving ideas Veolia Water already has in the planning stages.”
Veolia Water has plans to further reduce outside power demand at Palm Springs’ wastewater treatment plant by converting the microturbines to be powered by methane gas - a free source of fuel created by the natural biological processes used in treating wastewater.
The award was presented by Elizabeth G. Flores, Mayor of Laredo, TX, and Chair of USCM’s Mayors and the Business Community Task Force, at the Conference’s 73rd Winter Meeting at the Capital Hilton Hotel. More than 250 of the nation’s mayors were in attendance.
