Palm Springs clean energy provider celebrates new long-term wind energy agreement

Desert Community Energy (DCE) supplies clean energy to the City of Palm Springs. It is celebrating five years of operation, as well as a new, long-term, multi-million dollar power purchase agreement, or PPA, with Terra-Gen.

Terra-Gen owns several wind farms in the Whitewater Wash, four of which are associated with DCE.

According to the electricity company, the new agreement, combined with three other existing agreements with Terra-Gen, will power over 14,000 local homes and businesses in Palm Springs.

But carbon-free energy like this comes with a price. In order to supply 100% green power to its customers, Desert Community Energy charges roughly 10% more. Customers are able to opt out and choose a “less green” plan called the “Desert Saver” option, or they can stick with being powered by Southern California Edison (SCE).

DCE officials say Desert Saver is cheaper than SCE. They also say that Palm Springs residents having the power to choose carbon-free energy is unique.

“At least you get a choice if you want to do good things for the environment, do our part to stop global warming. You do hundred percent carbon free. If you want to save a few dollars, you do Desert Saver. And if you just like to stick with Southern California Edison, you could do that too,” says Tom Kirk, the Executive Director of the Coachella Valley Association of Governments, or CVAG, which oversees DCE.

Longtime Palm Springs city leaders, like Jeffrey Bernstein and Lisa Middleton, also have ties to DCE. Middleton is the former chair of the organization, while Bernstein has recently taken the helm.

Bernstein says a large portion of Palm Springs residents – nearly 80% – opt into DCE’s plans, and he’s proud to say that the population in Palm Springs are willing to pay more to help combat climate change. “I think there’s a real commitment and understanding to having clean, carbon-free energy sources in our city,” says Bernstein.

Middleton acknowledges while some customers aren’t able or willing to foot the bill of carbon-free energy, there’s hope for the future.

“As these programs come online and grow and mature and we have more contracts like this, we are absolutely convinced that not only will we be producing renewable energy, we’ll be doing so at a less expensive cost,” Middleton explains.

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