Gary Bloom

The press release states, “Siemens Industry, Inc.  announced today that it has signed an agreement to acquire all of the stock of eMeter Corporation, headquartered in San Mateo, California (“eMeter”). The parties expect to close the deal in December 2011, subject to necessary approvals and customary closing conditions. The parties will not disclose the terms of the agreement.

eMeter will be part of the Smart Grid Division of the Siemens Infrastructure & Cities Sector, which is housed within Siemens Industry, Inc. in the United States. eMeter will become a global business segment and center of competence for Meter Data Management (MDM), and will continue to operate from its San Mateo headquarters as part of the Smart Grid Division. eMeter employees will be integrated into the Siemens business structure. With the completion of this purchase, Siemens is making a strong commitment to strengthening its position in the Smart Grid market.

With its EnergyIP platform, eMeter is a leader in platform and MDM application software for this key market and is expected to enhance Siemens’ position. eMeter’s expertise will complement Siemens’ technology portfolio and integrated Smart Grid solutions offering.

“The acquisition of eMeter will allow Siemens to expand its reach globally in the Energy Information and Meter Data Management space,” said Jan Mrosik, CEO of the Smart Grid Division of the Siemens Infrastructure & Cities Sector. “Ever-increasing demand for solutions to improve the effectiveness of the Smart Grid for cities and utilities makes this acquisition even more important. eMeter is renowned for its superior software and services capabilities that enable electric, gas and water utilities to realize the full benefits of the Smart Grid. A combined portfolio of Siemens’ products and solutions and eMeter’s software represents a unique and complementary offering to our customers.”

“Siemens’ global reach and innovative products and services coupled with eMeter’s renowned EnergyIP platform, supports an aggressive growth strategy and further penetration into the Smart Grid market,” said Gary Bloom, CEO and president of eMeter. “I am confident Siemens will provide eMeter with the level of investment required in people, technology and operations to significantly strengthen our position in the market.”

J.P. Morgan served as financial advisor to eMeter in connection with this transaction.”

Read more: eMeter Press Release

Site Controls’ energy management platform, Site-Command™, integrates hardware and software to provide customers with real-time centralized visibility and control of multiple locations from a central point. Site Controls’ product line broadens Siemens’ portfolio of building automation and HVAC control solutions and is intended to drive Building Technologies’ leadership in the retail and commercial markets, including big box retailers, fitness clubs, convenience stores and restaurants.

Site Controls further leverages its energy management platform through SureGrid™, a turn-key energy aggregation and demand response solution which reduces peak power demand when the electrical grid is under stress.  SureGrid offers customers, utilities and grid operators an industry-leading automated, cloud-based intelligent load management technology.  The combined portfolio of Site Controls and the Building Technologies Division significantly improves both companies’ position in the burgeoning Smart Grid/Smart Consumption market.

“We are keenly interested in developing solutions for our customers that help increase energy efficiency, margins, productivity and competitiveness,” said Andreas Schierenbeck, President of the Building Technologies Division. “With Site Controls’ energy management platform as part of our product portfolio, we have new tools to offer business owners and facility managers that centrally manage energy across the enterprise. Furthermore, our customers can participate in Smart Grid demand response programs with local utilities. The new offering of Siemens Building Technologies combined with the Energy Sector will accelerate our growth in the fast expanding Smart Consumption/Smart Grid market.”

“We are proud of the efforts of our team which built Site Controls into a technology leader and are thrilled to be joining forces with Siemens, a world-wide pioneer of efficiency and smart grid solutions,” said Dan Sharplin, Site Controls CEO.  “This transaction takes the Site Controls vision to the next level and creates significant value for our customers, employees, shareholders, and for Siemens.”

Siemens will continue to offer the same level of expertise and quality solutions that Site Controls’ customers have come to expect. Over the last several years, Site Controls’ product innovation, technical flexibility and customer focus have been providing commercial building operators with solutions that consistently deliver operating transparency from location to location. Siemens plans to maintain Site Controls’ 75-person team in Austin and integrate its solutions into the Building Technologies Division’s overall product portfolio.”

Source: Siemens

In one of the largest growing markets in the world, the potential for green industry is huge. This is no surprise, as many things in China are huge. The country, the amount of people, and more recently a booming marketplace are what define the nation of China. With a rapidly growing global reach, and a massive amount of growth potential, many are looking to China for new and exciting markets.

It only seems natural that there would be a large possibility of having an expansive green marketplace. The projected eco-friendly potential in China is seen as upwards of 1 trillion dollars annually. Due to the still developing nature of China, this number could potentially grow as the Chinese economy grows. Large investments in China have continued a trend that has occurred recently. Many companies and corporations are looking to expand their businesses to nations such as India and China, due to the large population base and thus a large possibility for profit.

A week ago, Siemens signed over 100 million dollars worth of contracts in China. Siemens, the company known for coal and nuclear power has begun to rapidly expand their potential to create green products. Their revenue from these green ventures and products has become a large part of their business. Despite the global recession that has adversely affected industry this last year, it is hoped that the worst is now over and a rebound to prosperous times can begin again. Siemens is trying to harness this rebound with the hopes that their large-scale investments in China will pay off for them in the future.

In collaboration with Siemens, the DOE has undertaken an R&D project that will study the performance and effectiveness of land-based turbines. The project will utilize a 2.3 megawatt fan with a 331-foot diameter rotor near Boulder, Colorado. The tests for this large turbine will hopefully user in a future of increased turbine use to the U.S., decreasing the use of brown energy to create electricity. The idea behind engaging in such research is to increase the amount of renewable energy that is fed into the grids of the U.S.. In addition to other forms of green energy, the DOE looks to decrease dependence on brown energy (oil, coal, non-renewable sources) from domestic and foreign suppliers.

The research being conducted is vitally important, thought there are a few difficulties with turbines of such a large design. While the turbines may look lithe, they usually weigh 400-800 tons. Due to this, they can only be installed on certain types of land, limiting their potential effectiveness. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have devoted 5m to the process, while Siemens have contributed 9m to the initial stages of research. The research conducted will test the recent improvements of wind technology, the ability of turbines to sustain potentially destructive weather as well as the amount of noise the spinning blades of the turbine can potentially produce.

According to the Press Release, “Siemens AG is to acquire the solar thermal power company Solel Solar Systems Ltd. To date, the majority stake has been held by Ecofin Ltd., a London-based investment firm, and another major shareholder. “After the rapid and highly successful expansion of our wind power business, we now want to continue this success story in the solar sector. With the acquisition of Solel, Siemens can now strengthen its market position in the promising business of solar thermal power plants.

We can thus further expand our extensive Environmental Portfolio – and, as already announced, we will become even greener,” said Siemens President and CEO Peter Löscher. Solel Solar Systems has a workforce of over 500 and is one of the world´s two leading suppliers of solar receivers, which are key components of so-called parabolic trough power plants. The high-growth company, which posted revenue totaling almost $90 million in the first six months of its current fiscal year (January 1 to June 30, 2009), is also a leader in the planning and construction of solar fields. The purchase price is about $418 million (currently equivalent to around €284 million *). The transaction is subject to approval by the responsible authorities. It is anticipated that the closing will take place before the end of this calendar year.”

Source: Press Release