More U.S. Manufacturers Turn to Onsite Power Generation

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Energy consumption at U.S. manufacturing plants has been steadily increasing since 2010, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), with natural gas notching significant growth as the leading resource. Some of the heaviest consumers have been building their own power-generation facilities on site, to reduce any drains on local power grids. Industrial Info is tracking more than $10 billion worth of active and proposed power-generation projects at manufacturing facilities across the U.S., about $3 billion of which have a 70% or higher likelihood of beginning construction as currently scheduled.

Click on the image at right for a graph detailing active and proposed power-generation projects at manufacturing facilities across the U.S., by industry.

The EIA's findings were from its recently released Manufacturing Energy Consumption Survey (MECS), which is conducted every four years. Data for the most recent survey covers 2019 through 2022. Natural gas consumption increased at a faster rate than all other energy sources combined, when compared with the previous MECS results from 2018. The EIA describes MECS as "a nationally representative sample survey of approximately 15,000 establishments representing 97% to 98% of the manufacturing payroll."

For purposes of the survey, the EIA defined "manufacturing" according to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), which "comprises establishments engaged in the mechanical, physical, or chemical transformation of materials, substances, or components into new products." These establishments include plants, factories and mills, as well as subsectors ranging from food to electronic products to treated water, among others.

The Metals & Minerals Industry leads all others in onsite generation projects, according to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Database. Among them is Hybar LLC's (Osceola, Arkansas) $100 million solar plant in Osceola, Arkansas. Hybar, a subsidiary of Global Principal Partners LLC (Miami, Florida), started construction on the solar farm toward the end of 2023, to supply energy to a $470 million steel rebar mill, which started construction earlier that year. Both projects are scheduled to wrap up later this year.

The solar plant will provide 105 megawatts (MW) to the mill, which is expected to produce 630,000 tons per year of rebar. Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Metals & Minerals Project Database can read detailed reports on Hybar's solar farm and rebar mill.

Cobalt is emerging as one of the most highly demanded products in the U.S. mining sector, and EVelution Energy LLC (Yuma, Arizona) is responding with its $150 million Cobalt Processing Plant in Wellton, Arizona, which is designed to produce 7,000 tons per year of carbon-neutral, battery-grade cobalt. EVelution will supply energy to the facility with a $50 million solar plant, which will comprise a 28.4-MW solar farm and a 24-MW battery energy-storage system (BESS). Subscribers can read detailed reports on the processing plant and solar farm.

While solar and other renewable sources have proven popular for onsite power generation, natural gas still leads in overall consumption and is widely preferred as a source for backup generation. Case in point: Oklahoma City's $23.4 million emergency generator addition at its Hefner Water Treatment Plant, which comprises five gas-fired generators that will be able to produce up to 10 MW during power outages. Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Industrial Manufacturing Project Database can learn more from a detailed project report.

Other municipal projects include a $45 million solar plant in Downtown Denver, Colorado, which is designed to supply energy to the city's planned National Western Center (NWC), a 2.2 million-square-foot campus designed to host innovation and research labs, among other facilities. Built across roughly 627,000 square feet of rooftop, with some ground-based components, the solar plant will provide up to 11.4 MW to the NWC's microgrid. Subscribers can learn more from a detailed project report.

Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Project and Plant databases can click here for a full list of detailed reports for projects mentioned in this article, and click here for a full list of related plant profiles.

Subscribers can click here for a full list of active and proposed power-generation projects at manufacturing facilities across the U.S.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) platform helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).