Sec. 1114. Smart energy and water efficiency program
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In this section: The term eligible entity means— a utility; a municipality; a water district; a sanitation district; or any other authority that provides water, wastewater, or water reuse services. The terms smart energy and water efficiency pilot program and pilot program mean the pilot program established under subsection (b). The Secretary of Energy shall establish and carry out a smart energy and water efficiency pilot program in accordance with this section. The purpose of the smart energy and water efficiency pilot program is to award grants to eligible entities to demonstrate advanced and innovative technology-based projects that will— increase and improve the energy efficiency of water, wastewater, and water end-use and reuse systems to help communities across the United States make significant progress in conserving water, saving energy, and reducing costs; support the implementation of innovative processes for energy and water efficiency and the installation of advanced automated systems that provide real-time data on energy and water; improve energy and water conservation, water quality, and predictive maintenance of energy and water systems, through the use of software and communication enabled technologies, including sensors, intelligent gateways, and security embedded in hardware; or support the recovery of energy, in the form of biofuels, bioproducts (including nutrient recovery), and biopower, from municipal wastewaters, biosolids, and biowastes.
The Secretary of Energy shall make competitive grants under the pilot program to at least 2 eligible entities. In selecting an eligible entity to receive a grant under the pilot program, the Secretary of Energy shall consider— energy and water cost savings anticipated to result from the project; the innovative nature, commercial viability, and reliability of the technology to be used; the degree to which the project integrates next-generation sensors, software, hardware, predictive analytics, and management tools; the anticipated cost effectiveness of the project in terms of energy savings, water savings or reuse, and infrastructure costs averted per dollar spent; 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, including whether the technology can be implemented by each type of eligible entity; whether the technology has been successfully deployed elsewhere; whether the technology is sourced from a manufacturer based in the United States; and whether the project will be completed in 5 years or less.
Subject to clause (ii), an eligible entity seeking a grant under the pilot program shall submit to the Secretary of Energy an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary determines to be necessary. An application under clause
(i)shall, at a minimum, include— a description of the project; a description of the technology to be used in the project; the anticipated results, including energy and water savings, of the project; a comprehensive budget for the project; the names of the project lead organization and any partners; the number of users to be served by the project; and any other information that the Secretary of Energy determines to be necessary to complete the review and selection of a grant recipient. Not later than 300 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Energy shall select grant recipients under this section. The Secretary of Energy shall annually carry out an evaluation of each project for which a grant is provided under this section that— evaluates the progress and impact of the project; and assesses the degree to which the project is meeting the purpose of the pilot program. On the request of a grant recipient, the Secretary of Energy shall, to the extent practicable, provide technical and policy assistance to the grant recipient to carry out the project. To carry out this section, the Secretary is authorized to use not more than $15,000,000, to the extent provided in advance in appropriation Acts.