U.S. Home to Billions' Worth of 2Q ESG Project Kickoffs

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Projects in support of environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives continue to pop up across the U.S. as industries aim to decarbonize operations and add renewable sources of energy. Industrial Info is tracking $75 billion worth of ESG-related projects in the U.S. that are planned to begin in the second quarter, including about $29 billion worth that have a high (81% or higher) likelihood of beginning construction as currently scheduled. About 37% of the total spend is attributed to solar projects.

Among the solar-generation projects expected to kick off in the second quarter is Invenergy's (Chicago, Illinois) $200 million Horseshoe Solar Energy Center in Caledonia, New York. The project is designed to utilize an estimated 600,000 photovoltaic (PV) panels from Chinese solar panel manufacturer Longi to generate up to 180 megawatts (MW) of solar power. Invenergy expects operations to begin in 2025. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Power Project Database can read a detailed project report.

In addition, Doral Renewables LLC (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) expects the $435 million, second-phase construction of its Mammoth Solar Plant in Winamac, Indiana, will begin in June and wrap up in August 2025. The project also will utilize Longi PV panels to add 300 MW to the existing 400 MW of solar-generation capacity. Click here to read the project report.

While Industrial Info is tracking solar projects across the country, it is Texas that leads all U.S. states in terms of the investment value of high-probability projects set to kick off this quarter. For more information, see April 1, 2024, article - Texas Leads U.S. to Billions in Project Spending for 2Q Solar-Generation Kickoffs.

The highest-valued ESG-related project expected to kick off this quarter is not attributed to renewable power generation, but for the production of low-carbon hydrogen. Construction of Air Products and Chemicals Incorporated's (NYSE:APD) (Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania) $7 billion blue hydrogen complex in Geismar, Louisiana is expected to kick off in June; "blue" hydrogen is produced when natural gas is split into hydrogen and carbon dioxide (CO2): The CO2 is captured and then stored. The hydrogen then can be combined with nitrogen to produce blue ammonia. The complex would produce as much as 750 million standard cubic feet per day of blue hydrogen, as well as blue ammonia. Subscribers to the Chemical Processing Project Database can click here to learn more about the project.

In the Industrial Manufacturing Industry, ESG-related activity is buoyed by electric vehicle (EV) projects. This includes Tesla Incorporated's (NASDAQ:TSLA) (Austin, Texas) $3.6 billion expansion of its gigafactory in Sparks, Nevada, which entails constructing two new buildings totaling approximately 4 million square feet: a high-volume semi-truck production building and a building for manufacturing the company's 4680 battery cells (capacity of 100 gigawatt-hours annually, enough to power 2 million EVs.) Construction is expected to wrap up in mid-2026. Subscribers to the Industrial Manufacturing Project Database can click here for the project report.

In the Pharmaceutical-Biotech Industry, a main component of ESG activity is buildings being constructed in adherence to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) guidelines. According to the U.S. Green Building Council, which sets the LEED certification program, LEED buildings "use less energy and water, utilize renewable energy and fewer resources, create less waste, and preserve land and habitat."

SmartLabs (Boston, Massachusetts) expects construction of a LEED-certified $450 million life science research and development building in San Francisco, California will begin this month. The project entails demolishing an existing warehouse before constructing the eight-story, approximately 250,000-square-foot building. Hathaway Dinwiddie Construction (San Francisco) is performing general contracting services for the project, which is expected to wrap up in mid-2026. Subscribers to the Pharmaceutical-Biotech Project Database can click here for the project report.

Click here for all project reports mentioned in this article and here for related plant profiles.

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) 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 over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).