Industrial Info Tracks $376 Million in Fourth-Quarter U.S. Coal-Fired Project Kickoffs

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--While much of the current press about coal-fired power plants involves the closure of existing plants and the increased use of natural gas over coal, the United States' coal-fired fleet still remains a substantial portion of the nation's power-generating fleet. While most grassroot construction activity has fallen off in this sector, maintenance activity accounts for more than $136 million in project activity kicking off in the fourth quarter of this year, while capital projects, including ash-handling projects as part of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Coal Combustion Residuals (CCR) rule, account for about $240 million in projects starting from October through December. All told, Industrial Info is tracking more than $376 million of projects at U.S. coal-fired plants that are set to kick off during the fourth quarter of this year.

Maintenance projects for the quarter range in value from smaller, $1 million outages occurring at several plants throughout the U.S. on up to the major outage occurring at the 632-megawatt (MW) unit at the A.M. Williams Power Station in South Carolina, owned by South Carolina Electric & Gas Company (Columbia, South Carolina). This project is expected to kick off in October and involves major inspections and repairs to the turbine and boiler at the plant. Completion is expected by the end of the year.

Geographically, the strongest area for maintenance for both the number and value of projects is the Great Lakes region, where coal-fired generation remains relatively strong. Industrial Info is tracking 11 coal-fired maintenance projects with a combined total investment value of $49 million in this market region during the fourth quarter. Among the largest of these projects is the major inspection and repair to the 217-MW Unit 1 at Indiana-Kentucky Electric Corporation's (Madison, Indiana) Clifty Creek Power Station in Madison, Indiana. This outage is expected to kick off in October and take approximately 65 days to complete.

In addition to the 30 maintenance projects planned to kick off during the quarter, Industrial Info is also tracking five major capital projects planned to kick off during this time at coal-fired plants. These are dominated by two ash-handling projects to adhere to the EPA's CCR rule. Together, the two projects have a combined total investment value of $180 million. One of these projects is taking place at Louisville Gas & Electric Company's (Louisville, Kentucky) Trimble County Power Station near Bedford, Kentucky. AMEC Foster Wheeler (Tucker, Georgia) is acting as engineering, construction, and procurement firm on the project.

The second CCR project is occurring at Santee Cooper's (Moncks Corner, South Carolina) Cross Generating Station near Pineville, South Carolina. The $85 million project is expected to kick off during the fourth quarter of this year and be completed by the beginning of 2018. WorleyParsons Limited (Reading, Pennsylvania) is acting as general contractor on the project.

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. 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.