Florida, Georgia Industries Brace for Debby's Damage

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Tropical Storm Debby is pounding Florida and southern Georgia with heavy rain and winds, after making landfall as a hurricane early Monday morning with sustained winds of 80 miles per hour. About four hours later, it had weakened into a tropical storm, with warnings in effect for much of Florida's Gulf Coast, and for the Atlantic Coast from northeastern Florida to southern South Carolina. Industrial Info's Disaster Impact Tracker continues to track Debby's activity, which could affect as many as 256 industrial plants.

Industrial Info's Disaster Impact Tracker allows subscribers to track and monitor major weather events, offering details on hurricane wind speeds, earthquake intensities, floods and other natural disasters as they unfold. Users can quickly determine the potential impact of each event through detailed visualization. Click here for more information.

Industrial Info is tracking progress at 17 operational plants in the areas of Florida and southern Georgia that faced winds of at least 75 miles per hour Monday morning. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Plant Database can click here for a list of detailed plant profiles.

Among the planned projects at these facilities is NextEra Energy Incorporated's (NYSE:NEE) (Juno Beach, Florida) Norton Creek Solar Energy Center in Madison, Florida, which is designed to generate 74.5 megawatts (MW) from more than 170,000 photovoltaic (PV) panels. It is managed by NextEra subsidiary Florida Power & Light Company. Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Power Project Database can learn more from a detailed project report.

Other projects in the area include Pilgrim's Pride Corporation's (NASDAQ:PPC) (Greely, Colorado) proposed expansion to its poultry-processing plant in Live Oak, Florida. The project remains in its early planning phase, with the exact size of the addition not yet known. Subscribers can learn more from a detailed project report.

Outside the Big Bend area most affected by the landfall, Florida coastal areas as far west as the Apalachee Bay and as far east as Sarasota were facing storm surge conditions Monday morning, according to the NOAA. The full Georgia coast and the southern half of South Carolina's coast, including the city of Charleston, also are facing a storm surge. A Storm Surge Warning indicates a danger of life-threatening inundation, from rising water moving inland from the coastline, according to the NOAA.

Georgia Ports Brace for Weather
Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) announced Monday it has closed the Savannah, Brunswick, Garden City and Ocean terminals and will reopen them Wednesday, weather permitting, as a result of Tropical Storm Debby.

The GPA announced Monday the Port of Brunswick had no ships in at either of its two terminals operated by GPA: Colonel's Island or Mayor's Point. Neither terminal will receive inbound vessels until the U.S. Coast Guard gives the all-clear after the storm passes.

The GPA plans to begin construction in the coming months on its $50 million expansion of the fourth berth at the Colonel's Island terminal, which is designed to extend the vessel-berthing space from 3,355 to 4,630 feet. The fourth berth mainly handles wheeled cargo, including cars, motorcycles, trucks, etc. Subscribers can learn more from a detailed project report.

The Port of Savannah's Garden City Terminal has been at work on a $200 million expansion since the summer of 2022 to increase the full port's annual capacity by 1 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), and it plans to begin a $10 million expansion of its maintenance and operations facilities later this year. Subscribers can read detailed reports on the capacity expansion and facility additions.

Oil & Gas, Refining Escape Effects
Although Debby is far to the east of most offshore oil and gas developments in the Gulf of Mexico, Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) (San Ramon, California) took care Sunday to remove non-essential personnel from its Blind Faith and Petronius offshore platforms. The company later released a statement indicating "there has been no effect to production at our Chevron-operated assets due to the tropical weather." Subscribers can read detailed profiles of the Blind Faith and Petronius facilities.

Industrial Info does not believe any petroleum refineries will be affected by Debby.

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).