Sec. 1111. DOE energy-water nexus findings, sense of Congress, and definition
396 words·~2 min read·
/bill/115/hr/3275/ih/section-1111·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Congress finds the following: Water and energy are essential resources that are inherently linked and interconnected. In 2010, the U.S. water system consumed approximately 12.6 percent of the Nation’s energy according to a study by the University of Texas at Austin. The Nation’s wastewater plants and drinking water systems expend approximately $4 billion per year on energy to treat water. Water and wastewater facilities account for approximately 4 percent of U.S. electricity consumption.
California water systems together consume approximately 19 percent of the State’s electricity. If water and wastewater utilities could reduce energy use by just 10 percent using demand management and cost-effective investments in energy efficiency, it would save about $400 million annually. The energy-water nexus is integral to combating and mitigating the effects of climate change and enhancing energy and water security. The Government Accountability Office has issued several reports calling for improved information and coordination from the Department of Energy with respect to the energy-water nexus, including improving Federal data for power plants, improving information on water produced during oil and gas production, and increasing Federal coordination to better manage energy and water tradeoffs.
The Department of Energy’s Energy-Water Nexus Crosscut Team is a collaboration of agencies, national laboratories, State and local governments, utilities, industry stakeholders, and the science and environmental community that work to address water and energy challenges and opportunities. It is the sense of Congress that Congress supports— with respect to the energy-water nexus— an advanced, integrated data, modeling, and analysis platform to improve understanding and inform decision making for a broad range of users and at multiple scales; and investments in targeted technology research that offer the greatest potential for positive impact; innovative technology advances that address the challenges relating to the energy-water nexus; and the Department of Energy’s Energy-Water Nexus Crosscut Team and its mission.
In this Act, the term energy-water nexus means the links between energy and water systems, including— the water needed to produce fuels, generate electricity, and produce other forms of energy; the energy needed to transport, reclaim, treat, and reuse— water, including water needed for heating and cooling; and wastewater, including produced waters; the energy available in organic wastewaters and wet waste streams, including municipal and industrial wastewaters and livestock manures; and the waste heat available in industrial process and cooling water discharges, steam system condensate and cooling water, and thermoelectric cooling water discharges.