Industrial Hotspots: Coal-Fired Power Plants Need $48 Billion For Environmental Compliance
Industrial Info Resources
(www.industrialinfo.com) is
monitoring 584 future environmental compliance projects totaling $48 billion at
U.S. coal-fired power plants with scheduled completion dates between 2007 and
2010.
Gulf Coast
Region: Representing about 10% of the nation’s industrial project
spending, based on projects scheduled to begin construction in 2007 or beyond,
the U.S. Gulf Coast is one of the nation’s key industrial regions. This area
includes the coastal areas of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, as well
as Florida’s Gulf of Mexico border. Industrial Info is tracking more than $82
billion in industrial projects scheduled to begin construction in 2007 or
beyond. More than 1,100 projects are in various stages of pre-commissioned
status, including planning, engineering or under construction. The majority of
the project development in the Gulf Coast Region is for energy-related
projects, such as power plants, petroleum refineries, LNG, oil and natural gas
terminals, ethanol and petrochemicals.
Northeast
Region: The Northeast Region is currently forecast to complete
construction of 95 new plants throughout 2007. This represents an impressive
55% increase over the region’s figures for 2006. Last year, 61 new facilities
were finished in the Northeast, which includes the states of Delaware, New
Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. For 2007, as was the case for 2006,
Pennsylvania claimed the majority of new builds, with 40 plants. New York is
not far behind with 37 sites. The remainder is found in New Jersey, with 18 new
facilities.
New England
Region: The New England Region is currently on track for the
construction of 150 new industrial facilities representing total investment
value of over $20.7 billion. Every state in the region, which includes
Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont, is
currently in line to reap at least a part of the forecasted capital investment.
Massachusetts is the leader by hosting a whopping 55 projects, which represent
30% of all currently reported activity.
Harris County,
TX: At the beginning of the year, Harris County, TX, was
identified as one of the top 20 U.S. counties for industrial project spending
in 2007. With almost half of 2007 in the record books, industrial project
spending in 2007 is on track with the initial forecast of $1.6 billion in
Harris County. However, the number of projects has increased from 93 up to 102.
These projects have either begun construction or are scheduled to begin
construction in 2007. One of the larger projects, which has already begun
construction in Harris County this year, is a $100 million phase 2 expansion of
a polysilicon manufacturing plant owned by MEMC in Pasadena, TX. This project
is part of a worldwide trend of polysilicon manufacturers to increase capacity
due to increasing demand from semiconductor and solar application markets.
Polysilicon manufacturers are planning more than $3 billion in capacity
expansion projects in the U.S. alone over the next 2-3 years.
Chicago
Area: The Greater Chicago Area, which consists of the counties of
Cook, Will, DuPage and Lake, has always been a solid cornerstone of
manufacturing for the Great Lakes Region. Currently, Industrial Info is
tracking almost 80 capital and maintenance projects worth over $4.5 billion
that are scheduled to begin construction in the Chicago area in June 2007 or
beyond, an increase of approximately 30% over the construction activity planned
as of this time last year.
For 2007, environmental compliance project spending is expected to exceed $15 billion, with another $14 billion spent in 2008. Spending in 2009 and 2010 is forecast at about $9 billion and $12 billion, respectively.
Other industrial “hotspots” tracked by Industrial Info include:
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