[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 886 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
114th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 886
To amend the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to provide for a smart energy
and water efficiency pilot program.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 26, 2015
Mr. Udall introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to provide for a smart energy
and water efficiency pilot program.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Smart Energy and Water Efficiency
Act of 2015''.
SEC. 2. SMART ENERGY AND WATER EFFICIENCY PILOT PROGRAM.
Subtitle A of title IX of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C.
16191 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 918. SMART ENERGY AND WATER EFFICIENCY PILOT PROGRAM.
``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Eligible entity.--The term `eligible entity' means--
``(A) a utility;
``(B) a municipality;
``(C) a water district; and
``(D) any other authority that provides water,
wastewater, or water reuse services.
``(2) Smart energy and water efficiency pilot program.--The
term `smart energy and water efficiency pilot program' or
`pilot program' means the pilot program established under
subsection (b).
``(b) Smart Energy and Water Efficiency Pilot Program.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall establish and carry
out a smart energy and water efficiency pilot program in
accordance with this section.
``(2) Purpose.--The purpose of the smart energy and water
efficiency pilot program is to award grants to eligible
entities to demonstrate novel and innovative technology-based
solutions that will--
``(A) increase the energy efficiency of water,
wastewater, and water reuse systems;
``(B) improve energy efficiency of water,
wastewater, and water reuse systems to help communities
across the United States make significant progress in
conserving water, saving energy, and reducing costs;
and
``(C) support the implementation of innovative
processes and the installation of advanced automated
systems that provide real-time data on energy and
water.
``(3) Project selection.--
``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall make
competitive, merit-reviewed grants under the pilot
program to not less than 3, but not more than 5,
eligible entities.
``(B) Selection criteria.--In selecting an eligible
entity to receive a grant under the pilot program, the
Secretary shall consider--
``(i) energy and cost savings;
``(ii) the novelty of the technology to be
used;
``(iii) the degree to which the project
integrates next-generation sensors, software,
analytics, and management tools;
``(iv) the anticipated cost-effectiveness
of the pilot project in terms of energy
efficiency savings, water savings or reuse, and
infrastructure costs averted;
``(v) whether the technology can be
deployed in a variety of geographic regions and
the degree to which the technology can be
implemented on a smaller or larger scale; and
``(vi) whether the project will be
completed in 5 years or less.
``(C) Applications.--
``(i) In general.--Subject to clause (ii),
an eligible entity seeking a grant under the
pilot program shall submit to the Secretary an
application at such time, in such manner, and
containing such information as the Secretary
determines to be necessary.
``(ii) Contents.--An application under
clause (i) shall, at a minimum, include--
``(I) a description of the project;
``(II) a description of the
technology to be used in the project;
``(III) the anticipated results,
including energy and water savings, of
the project;
``(IV) a comprehensive budget for
the project;
``(V) the names of the project lead
organization and any partners;
``(VI) the number of users to be
served by the project; and
``(VII) any other information that
the Secretary determines to be
necessary to complete the review and
selection of a grant recipient.
``(4) Administration.--
``(A) In general.--Not later than 300 days after
the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary
shall select grant recipients under this section.
``(B) Evaluations.--The Secretary shall annually
carry out an evaluation of each project for which a
grant is provided under this section that--
``(i) evaluates the progress and impact of
the project; and
``(ii) assesses the degree to which the
project is meeting the goals of the pilot
program.
``(C) Technical and policy assistance.--On the
request of a grant recipient, the Secretary shall
provide technical and policy assistance.
``(D) Best practices.--The Secretary shall make
available to the public--
``(i) a copy of each evaluation carried out
under subparagraph (B); and
``(ii) a description of any best practices
identified by the Secretary as a result of
those evaluations.
``(E) Report to congress.--The Secretary shall
submit to Congress a report containing the results of
each evaluation carried out under subparagraph (B).
``(c) Funding.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall use not less than
$7,500,000 of amounts made available to the Secretary to carry
out this section.
``(2) Prioritization.--In funding activities under this
section, the Secretary shall prioritize funding in the
following manner:
``(A) Any unobligated amounts made available to the
Secretary to carry out the activities of the Energy
Efficiency and Renewable Energy Office.
``(B) Any unobligated amounts (other than those
described in subparagraph (A)) made available to the
Secretary.''.
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