Industry leaders acknowledge that meeting decarbonization goals will require the use of every tool at their disposal. This will require government to work closely with the private sector to develop effective solutions. These public-private partnerships, such as the Energy Future Collaboration Partnership between the city of Denver and Xcel Energy, will be essential if ambitious objectives at the state and local levels are to be achieved.
On January 13, OurEnergyPolicy hosted a webinar led by Susanne DesRoches (NYC Office of Resiliency and NYC Office of Sustainability) that examined the importance and potential of public-private partnerships to advance and support the energy transition.
Jonathan Rogers (City/County of Denver) and Tyler Smith (Xcel Energy) offered their insights on municipal-level partnerships as they provided an overview of the relationship between the city and utility, a framework that focuses on “innovation, clean energy, economic development opportunities, customer choice programs, and technology.” Michael Colgrove (Energy Trust of Oregon) explained the different structure of the partnerships his organization fosters as an independent non-profit overseen by the state public utility commission. The Energy Trust works at the state level with municipalities, utilities, and other energy stakeholders on both specific projects (hydropower, energy efficiency, etc.), and on more comprehensive planning such as for decarbonizing the grid and achieving greater resiliency.
1) Where can public-private partnerships be most effective in pursuing energy goals or initiatives?
I believe public-private partnerships can play a pivotal role in enabling the U.S. and other countries transition to a clean-energy economy by creating effective new approaches to build critical infrastructure.… Read more »
2) Are there examples of public-private partnerships in the energy field that can serve as models for states and municipalities? Examples from other disciplines?
3) What are the biggest obstacles to these partnerships, and are there policy changes that could facilitate this type of cooperation?
I’ll say up front that I’m no expert on public-private partnerships. I’m sure there are economists, lawyers, and others who have been involved in projects like the Denver – Xcel… Read more »
To move at the necessary speed to convert from fossil-fuels to renewable energy generation, we will need to look at business models. The question above speaks to approaches of public-private… Read more »
Q#1) Public-private partnerships work when there is a shared goal among local businesses, local institutions and organizations, and local governments that uniquely overlap. There also needs some anchor investors –… Read more »