California Gears Up for Almost $9 Billion in Construction Kickoffs Before Year's End, Led by Rail, Solar Projects

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Industrial Info is tracking $8.75 billion of industrial projects that are planned to kick off in California from August through the end of the year. While the Industrial Manufacturing and Power industries lead all other industries in total investment value (TIV), the former's total is attributed largely to a single rail project, while the latter is driven by more than $2 billion in solar-related projects.

Click on the image at right for a graph detailing active projects in California by industry.

The Industrial Manufacturing Industry leads all other industries in TIV, with more than 80% of the amount attributed to the largest project in terms of investment value: the $2.82 billion expansion of the Metro Purple Line in West Los Angeles. The project, which is expected to take almost 10 years to fully complete, involves building almost four miles of heavy-rail track and twin-bored tunnels with three new stations, two sets of double crossovers, and three traction power substations. It received a major boost in May with a $1.25 billion Full-Funding Grant Agreement (FFGA) from the U.S. Federal Transit Administration. Skanska USA Civil (Riverside, California) is performing design-engineering work.

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When excluding the Purple Line project, the Power Industry leads all other industries with 27 projects with a TIV of $2.61 billion, with 85% of the total attributed to solar-related investments.

One of the most anticipated solar projects is NextEra Energy Incorporated's (NYSE:NEE) (Juno Beach, Florida) 250-megawatt (MW) McCoy Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Power Plant in Blythe, California. The project, which is being built on nearly 4,500 acres, will use First Solar's (NASDAQ:FSLR) (Tempe, Arizona) CdTe thin-film pv solar modules. It cleared a major hurdle in March, when Riverside County supervisors voted unanimously to accept the environmental impact report and development agreement. First Solar is performing engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services. Construction is expected to kick off in the fourth quarter.

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All other industries are hosting $2.7 billion in active and unconfirmed projects that will kick off before the end of the year, one of the largest of which is American Water Works Company Incorporated's (NYSE:AWK) (Voorhees, New Jersey) $320 million construction of a seawater desalination plant, north of Marina, California. California American Water, a subsidiary, plans to install reverse-osmosis desalination equipment, 20 miles of pipeline with pump stations, and beach & ASR Wells to produce about 9 million gallons per day of potable water.

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Close to 70% of the TIV--a little more than $6 billion--is related to 32 projects that are in the engineering stages. About $2.47 billion worth of projects--although a greater number, 42--are still in the planning stages, where plenty of factors could increase, decrease or eliminate the expected spending, while 51 projects worth $160 million have kicked off construction since the start of August.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, three offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.