U.S. Southeast Region Plans for More than $1.5 Billion in First-Quarter Power Project Starts

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The Power Industry is moving along in the U.S. Southeast market region, which has plans to kick off more than $1.5 billion in power projects in first-quarter 2021. The Southeast region includes Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Puerto Rico and Tennessee. Florida, with 16 planned projects valued at more than $720 million, leads in terms of both project value and number of projects.

Click on the image at right for a breakdown by state/territory of planned first-quarter power project starts in the Southeast market region.

Several of Florida's projects are due to incentives to build out solar power in the state. Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) (Charlotte, North Carolina) plans to begin construction on a couple of 74.9-megawatt (MW) solar facilities in the upcoming quarter. A facility in Duette, Florida, about 50 miles southeast of Tampa, will use an estimated 227,000 First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Series 6 thin-film modules on a single-axis tracking system. A facility in Archer, southwest of Gainesville, also will use First Solar modules. Construction on both facilities is expected to be completed by the end of 2021. For more information, see Industrial Info's project reports on the Duette and Archer projects.

Coupled with the rise of solar facilities is an increase in battery energy storage systems (BESS). In Lake City, Florida, next to the existing Sunshine Gateway solar farm, NextEra Energy Incorporated (NYSE:NEE) (Juno Beach, Florida) will construct a 30-MW BESS using Lockheed Martin battery technology. Black & Veatch Incorporated (Overland Park, Kansas) is providing engineering, procurement and construction services for the project, which is expected to be completed by the end of next year. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

Getting this new power to consumers is opening the door for transmission and distribution projects, and among these projects in the region is NextEra's North Florida Resiliency Connection project, which includes construction of a 21-mile, 161-kilovolt, single-circuit, overhead transmission line from the Raven substation to the John substation and construction of a 155-mile line from the John substation to another existing substation. Construction is expected to kick off early in the quarter and be completed by the end of the year. For more information, see Industrial Info's on the 21-mile line and 155-mile line.

After suffering debilitating power outages in 2017 and 2018 due to Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico's Puerto Rico Industrial Development Company (San Juan) plans to install several microgrid facilities on the island in the upcoming year. Among the largest of these is the company's planned 15-MW installation at an industrial site in Aguadilla, which could include power sources such as ground/rooftop-mounted solar systems, cogeneration, anaerobic digestion and possibly wind, which will meet the load requirements of the area in case of disaster or emergency. Three other microgrid projects also are being planned at industrial sites in the territory. The projects have a combined value of more than $100 million. For more information, see Industrial Info's project reports.

While grassroot, coal-fired projects have ground to a halt in the U.S., projects still are being developed at existing facilities. Among these is Southern Company (NYSE:SO) (Atlanta, Georgia) subsidiary Alabama Power Company's (Birmingham, Alabama) plans for a refurbishment project for the boilers of units 1 and 2 at the coal-fired James H. Miller Power Station in Quinton, Alabama, about 20 miles northwest of Birmingham. The Babcock & Wilcox (NYSE:BW) boilers will have their economizer heads changed, and waterwall panels and boiler tubes replaced. The project is expected to take a little more than two months. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

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