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Released May 11, 2020 | SUGAR LAND
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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The U.S. unemployment rate stands at 14.7%, its highest level since the Great Depression, following the loss of 20.5 million jobs in April, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. With the COVID-19 pandemic moving out of urban areas like New York City and into less heavily populated places, three states in the South--Georgia, Alabama and Florida--show the largest percentage spike in people applying for unemployment benefits over the past six weeks. Industrial Info is tracking more than $32 billion in active projects in these states that have been delayed or otherwise affected by COVID-19 precautions.
Georgia reported a nearly 5,000% spike in jobless claims versus the week ending March 14 (the week before most shutdowns started), while Florida and Alabama saw average claims surge about 4,000%, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. The industries most affected include Power Generation, Industrial Manufacturing and Metals & Minerals.
Click here for a full list of affected projects in these three states.
Click on the image at right for a graph detailing the top 10 industrial sectors in Georgia, Alabama and Florida to see projects affected by COVID-19 (excluding Georgia's Vogtle plant), by each sector's total investment value.
The highest-valued project under construction in the three states, Southern Company's (NYSE:SO) (Atlanta, Georgia) estimated $27.5 billion two-unit expansion at the Alvin W. Vogtle Nuclear Power Station in Waynesboro, Georgia, has faced a string of setbacks following the COVID-19 outbreak. Last week, Southern announced it had taken the on-site workforce down from 9,000 to about 7,000 after the virus spread to 185 workers, according to the Savannah Morning News. Stephen Kuczynski, the chief executive officer of Southern Nuclear, told state regulators "the pandemic will continue to present challenges and risks to the project" in the coming months and that the full effect on the project remains unknown.
Nonetheless, Kuczynski told regulators that a rolling seven-day average indicates Vogtle may be seeing the beginnings of a downward trend of new positive cases, although the overall numbers continue to rise. He also said many employees are returning to work, and those still onsite are practicing social distancing and other cautionary measures. He also said Southern still expects to meet November 2021 and November 2022 regulator-approved in-service dates for units 3 and 4, respectively, and that no change is presently expected to the total project cost. The additions are expected to nearly double the generating capacity of the 2,300-megawatt (MW) plant; for more information, see Industrial Info's project report.
Excluding the Vogtle project, Georgia accounts for the lowest total investment value (TIV) among the three states for projects delayed or otherwise affected by COVID-19. Guidoni Group (Espirito Santo, Brazil) is indicating that its estimated $96 million McRae-Helena Quartz Manufacturing Plant in McRae, could face delays after equipment suppliers in Italy were forced to shut down their plants. Koch Foods Incorporated (Park Ridge, Illinois) might have to push back construction of an estimated $11 million wastewater treatment plant addition at its poultry-processing plant in Pine Mountain Valley. For more information, see Industrial Info's reports on the quartz plant and wastewater treatment projects.
COVID-19 also has dimmed Florida's embrace of solar energy. Last summer, Wood Mackenzie and the Solar Energy Industries Association projected the Sunshine State would be the top U.S. state for utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) projects over the next six years, with Florida Power & Light (FPL), a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Incorporated (NYSE:NEE) (Juno Beach, Florida), spearheading the growth. But several of those projects have hit the brakes, including FPL's $100 million Union Springs PV Solar Plant in Hastings and $100 million Putnam County PV Solar Plant in Florahome, each of which is expected to generate 74.5 MW from 330,000 PV modules provided by NEXTracker, a subsidiary of Flextronics International Limited (Singapore).
The Union Springs and Putnam County projects had their construction kickoffs moved back from June to October, at the earliest. But FPL is still seeing some spots of sunlight: Despite the setbacks related to COVID-19, four new solar plants across Florida began operations on May 1. For more information, see Industrial Info's reports on the Union Springs and Putnam County projects.
Alabama has remained one of the stronger markets for the beleaguered coal-mining sector, but one of its top companies, Warrior Met Coal LLC (NYSE:HCC) (Brookwood, Alabama), has temporarily suspended onsite construction and mine-development activities at its estimated $500 million Blue Creek Energy No. 1 Coal Mine in Berry, an underground complex that is expected to produce 4.3 million tons per year of metallurgical coal. Warrior also is delaying the development of a proposed $150 million expansion, which eventually would take capacity up to between 6 million and 8 million tons per year.
Construction on the initial phase of Blue Creek No. 1 was intended to begin in March, but Warrior delayed the budgeted investment until at least July 1, at the earliest. The expansion was still in its early economic evaluation stage; if approved, it would not have kicked off until 2030. For more information, see Industrial Info's reports on Blue Creek No. 1 and its expansion.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 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. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com.
Georgia reported a nearly 5,000% spike in jobless claims versus the week ending March 14 (the week before most shutdowns started), while Florida and Alabama saw average claims surge about 4,000%, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. The industries most affected include Power Generation, Industrial Manufacturing and Metals & Minerals.
Click here for a full list of affected projects in these three states.Click on the image at right for a graph detailing the top 10 industrial sectors in Georgia, Alabama and Florida to see projects affected by COVID-19 (excluding Georgia's Vogtle plant), by each sector's total investment value.
The highest-valued project under construction in the three states, Southern Company's (NYSE:SO) (Atlanta, Georgia) estimated $27.5 billion two-unit expansion at the Alvin W. Vogtle Nuclear Power Station in Waynesboro, Georgia, has faced a string of setbacks following the COVID-19 outbreak. Last week, Southern announced it had taken the on-site workforce down from 9,000 to about 7,000 after the virus spread to 185 workers, according to the Savannah Morning News. Stephen Kuczynski, the chief executive officer of Southern Nuclear, told state regulators "the pandemic will continue to present challenges and risks to the project" in the coming months and that the full effect on the project remains unknown.
Nonetheless, Kuczynski told regulators that a rolling seven-day average indicates Vogtle may be seeing the beginnings of a downward trend of new positive cases, although the overall numbers continue to rise. He also said many employees are returning to work, and those still onsite are practicing social distancing and other cautionary measures. He also said Southern still expects to meet November 2021 and November 2022 regulator-approved in-service dates for units 3 and 4, respectively, and that no change is presently expected to the total project cost. The additions are expected to nearly double the generating capacity of the 2,300-megawatt (MW) plant; for more information, see Industrial Info's project report.
Excluding the Vogtle project, Georgia accounts for the lowest total investment value (TIV) among the three states for projects delayed or otherwise affected by COVID-19. Guidoni Group (Espirito Santo, Brazil) is indicating that its estimated $96 million McRae-Helena Quartz Manufacturing Plant in McRae, could face delays after equipment suppliers in Italy were forced to shut down their plants. Koch Foods Incorporated (Park Ridge, Illinois) might have to push back construction of an estimated $11 million wastewater treatment plant addition at its poultry-processing plant in Pine Mountain Valley. For more information, see Industrial Info's reports on the quartz plant and wastewater treatment projects.
COVID-19 also has dimmed Florida's embrace of solar energy. Last summer, Wood Mackenzie and the Solar Energy Industries Association projected the Sunshine State would be the top U.S. state for utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) projects over the next six years, with Florida Power & Light (FPL), a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Incorporated (NYSE:NEE) (Juno Beach, Florida), spearheading the growth. But several of those projects have hit the brakes, including FPL's $100 million Union Springs PV Solar Plant in Hastings and $100 million Putnam County PV Solar Plant in Florahome, each of which is expected to generate 74.5 MW from 330,000 PV modules provided by NEXTracker, a subsidiary of Flextronics International Limited (Singapore).
The Union Springs and Putnam County projects had their construction kickoffs moved back from June to October, at the earliest. But FPL is still seeing some spots of sunlight: Despite the setbacks related to COVID-19, four new solar plants across Florida began operations on May 1. For more information, see Industrial Info's reports on the Union Springs and Putnam County projects.
Alabama has remained one of the stronger markets for the beleaguered coal-mining sector, but one of its top companies, Warrior Met Coal LLC (NYSE:HCC) (Brookwood, Alabama), has temporarily suspended onsite construction and mine-development activities at its estimated $500 million Blue Creek Energy No. 1 Coal Mine in Berry, an underground complex that is expected to produce 4.3 million tons per year of metallurgical coal. Warrior also is delaying the development of a proposed $150 million expansion, which eventually would take capacity up to between 6 million and 8 million tons per year.
Construction on the initial phase of Blue Creek No. 1 was intended to begin in March, but Warrior delayed the budgeted investment until at least July 1, at the earliest. The expansion was still in its early economic evaluation stage; if approved, it would not have kicked off until 2030. For more information, see Industrial Info's reports on Blue Creek No. 1 and its expansion.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 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. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com.
