Bosch India sees energy efficiency as a “low-hanging fruit” and expects to have a big play in that area.
In the two years that Bosch has been in that business — an entity owned by it is registered as an ‘energy services company’ (ESCO) by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency — the company has seen a attitudinal change in its customers, said Steffen Berns, President and Country Head, Bosch India.
Berns also serves Bosch Ltd as Managing Director.
An ESCO is a company that invests in energy services systems on its customer’s premises and helps the customer bring down its energy bill.
The customer pays the ESCO from the savings.
Today, customers are more receptive to the idea of ESCO, Berns told BusinessLine on the sidelines of the inauguration of a 12-MW solar power plant that Bosch has built for Cochin International Airport Ltd.
The new plant makes the airport 100 per cent solar-powered.
CM Venugopalan, who heads the energy and building solutions businesses at Bosch, said awareness about energy efficiency is growing in India.
For Bosch, which globally exited solar module manufacturing a few years ago, the construction solar power plants for third parties (‘engineering, procurement, construction’ business) is a lucrative area in India.
Cherry-picking Berns said the company will pick up projects that offer a challenge in terms of technology, and where customers value quality.
For Cochin International Airport, Bosch built the plant — its biggest project in India so far — at a price of ₹5.17 crore a MW, indicating a dipping trend in solar EPC prices. Several industry observers have termed the price “very low”.
Asked if Bosch made profits on the contract, Berns only observed that the company’s intention is always to make money.