Smart Energy and Water Efficiency Act of 2015
Directs the Department of Energy (DOE) to establish and carry out a smart energy and water efficiency management pilot program to award grants to three to five eligible entities (authorities that provide water, wastewater, or water reuse services) to demonstrate advanced and innovative technology-based solutions that will: (1) increase and improve the energy efficiency of water, wastewater, and water reuse systems to help communities make significant progress in conserving water, saving energy, and reducing costs; (2) support the implementation of innovative processes and the installation of advanced automated systems that provide real-time data on energy and water; and (3) improve energy and water conservation, water quality, and predictive maintenance of energy and water systems, through the use of Internet-connected technologies, including sensors, intelligent gateways, and security embedded in hardware.
Directs DOE, in selecting grant recipients, to consider:
energy and 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, analytics, and management tools; the anticipated cost-effectiveness of the pilot project in terms of energy efficiency savings, water savings or reuse, and infrastructure costs averted; 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 five years or less. Requires DOE to evaluate, annually, each project for which a grant is provided and make best practices identified available to the public.