U.S. Midwest to See Almost $6.5 Billion in Third-Quarter 2015 Kickoffs, Led by Wind Power, Crude Pipe Projects

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The U.S. Midwest region is looking at $6.46 billion in projects that are set to begin construction in the third quarter of 2015, with wind-power and crude-oil pipeline projects each accounting for more than $1 billion of the total. More than 75% of the total is attributed to four industries: Power, Oil & Gas Pipelines, Food & Beverage, and Pharmaceutical & Biotech.

Click on the image at right for a graph detailing planned third-quarter 2015 project kickoffs in the U.S. Midwest region by industry.

The Midwest region includes Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska and the Dakotas.

The Power Industry is far ahead of all others with $2.28 billion in projects set to begin construction in the Midwest from July through September, with more than half of that total attributed to Geronimo Energy's (Edina, Minnesota) $1.15 billion construction of the Grand Prairie Windfarm near Oneill, Nebraska. The project involves building between 167 and 266, towers, each fitted with a Vestas (or equivalent) wind turbine generator with 1.5 to 3.3 MW of capacity, plus balance-of-plant equipment, for a total capacity of about 400 MW. Stantec Consulting Incorporated (Green Bay, Wisconsin) is serving as consultant.

The Oil & Gas Pipelines Industry has a little more than $1 billion in Midwestern projects set to kick off in the third quarter, including Rimrock Midstream (Plano, Texas) and NGL Energy Partners LP's (NYSE:NGL) (Tulsa, Oklahoma) $450 million construction of a 550-mile section of the highly anticipated Grand Mesa Pipeline project. The 20-inch-diameter pipeline will transport up to 200,000 barrels per day (BBL/d) of DJ Basin/Wattenberg crude oil from Weld County, Colorado, to NGL Energy's crude oil terminal in Cushing, Oklahoma. It is expected to be completed in second-quarter 2016.

The Food & Beverage Industry is not too far behind, with $913 million in expected project starts, including a sweet surprise from Mars Incorporated (McLean, Virginia): the $130 million, second-phase expansion of a confectionary manufacturing plant in Topeka, Kansas. The project involves the addition of a new building and equipment, with Gray Construction Company (Lexington, Kentucky) performing engineering services. It is set to be completed in second-quarter 2016.

The Pharmaceutical & Biotech Industry comes in fourth place with $707 million in projects that are set to begin construction in the third quarter, including Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals Incorporated's (NYSE:MNK) (St. Louis, Missouri) $200 million construction of a plant in St. Louis that is designed to produce hydrocodone and oxycodone pain medication. It includes the construction of four new buildings, with CRB Consulting Engineers Incorporated (St. Louis) performing architectural and engineering services. It is set to be completed in third-quarter 2020.

About $4.03 billion, which is more than half of the total investment value for projects expected to kick off in the U.S. Midwest region in the third quarter, is attached to projects currently in the planning stages, where plenty of factors could increase, decrease or totally eliminate the expected spending. About $2.18 billion worth are in the engineering stages, while $105 million worth already are in the early construction stages.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, five 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.