Illinois Leads All States for 2005 Planned Power Industry Project Spending

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A recent study by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Incorporated; Houston, Texas) identifies the Top 10 U.S. States for planned project spending in the Power Industry. The leading states, listed in order of greatest to least project spending scheduled to begin construction this year, are Illinois, Texas, Wisconsin, California, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida, Minnesota, New York, and Arkansas. Power plant owners and developers are targeting these states for power generation growth, environmental retrofits, and routine maintenance project spending. Projects in these states will provide the greatest opportunity for service providers to the Power Industry, such as engineering firms, construction contractors, and equipment vendors.

Click on the image at right to view the Top 10 States List

Illinois leads all states, with planned project spending totaling $3.7 billion from 32 separate projects. More than 90% of the planned $3.7 billion to begin construction this year in Illinois is geared toward large coal-fired power plant development. There are four major grassroot coal-fired power plants, which could begin construction this year, including the $2 billion Prairie State Energy Campus being developed by Peabody Energy Corporation.

Exelon Nuclear, a subsidiary of Exelon Corporation (NYSE:EXC) (Chicago, Illinois), is planning eight projects at its nuclear power plants in Illinois, worth more than $100 million.

Some surprises on this year's list include Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Arkansas. These states made the list because of a few billion dollar coal-fired unit additions and grassroot projects that are being planned in those states. For example, Elm Road Generating Station Supercritical LLC, a subsidiary of Wisconsin Energy Corporation (NYSE:WEC) (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) has approval for a $2.1 billion new coal-fired power plant to be built adjacent to the company's Oak Ridge plant in Wisconsin. Construction on the first unit is expected to begin in October of 2005. The increase in the use of coal as a fuel for the development of new power generation is a major trend affecting the Power Industry these days. Right now, there are 23 coal-fired units, representing 7,683 MW, which could begin construction this year.

This brings to the forefront the fact that several large coal-fired power plant projects are scheduled to begin construction this year in those states. Industrialinfo.com is currently tracking an unprecedented eleven coal-fired power units currently under construction, representing 3,358 MW. There are 23 additional coal-fired units scheduled to begin construction in 2005. Those units represent 7,683 MW.

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