During the past month, Siemens has made several moves that point toward its growing interest in turn-key project business and providing a broader basket of products and services to building owners, developers and investors.
Siemens Financial Services, Inc. (SFS Inc.), Iselin, N.J., the U.S. unit of Siemens' Financial Services division, announced in December it will expand its energy and project finance offering to include infrastructure lending through senior secured and other debt financing solutions, effective immediately. On Dec. 14, Siemens announced its purchase of the Tesla Power & Automation business unit from Integrated Electrical Services (IESC), Houston, one of the nation's largest electrical contractors.
According to the Siemens press release, the Tesla unit builds “eHouses” — metal-fabricated buildings that house medium- and low-voltage electrical switchgear with transformers, battery systems, etc. Upon completion, the eHouses are transported to the customer site.
“Using eHouses makes for a simple and quick installation when compared with permanent brick-type buildings,” said Douglas Proudfoot, Siemens Energy Business Segment Manager for MV Package Power Solutions. “All the electrical equipment is installed in the eHouse at the factory and fully tested prior to shipment. At the site, the eHouse is lifted from the truck, placed on the foundation and the electrical connections are made.”
IESC has long been known for building “assemblies” of systems of electrical products in centralized facilities to later be installed on job-sites in an effort to improve the quality of its installations and save time on job-sites.