Latin American Growth Driving Next Round of Power Generation Investment

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Latin America's vast natural resources and growing GDP are driving the next phase of development in the region. The leading economy in Latin America belongs to Brazil, the GDP of which showed 9% growth in the first quarter of 2010, compared to last year. The need for new and updated sources of electricity to meet growth will be astounding. According to Industrial Info's Power Tracker, utilities and municipalities are developing 513 projects totaling $230 billion in power generation projects in Latin America. An additional 7,500 megawatts are being developed by independent energy producers at industrial plants in the region.

More than 183 gigawatts (GW) of new power generation units are currently being evaluated in Latin America to meet the growing power requirements of Central America, South America and Mexico. Because of South America's vast river systems, hydroelectric generation is the source for new generation being planned in Latin America. More than 800 hydroelectric power units are currently under development in Latin America, representing about 85 GW of power. For example, Brazil wants to build the Tapajós hydropower complex as part of the country's 2019 Energy Expansion Decennial Plan. The project would require a $53.9 billion investment in hydropower generation projects.

Second after hydroelectric is natural gas, which has almost 300 units planned, totaling 27 GW. Next comes coal with 75 units planned, totaling almost 20 GW. Nuclear, fuel oil and wind make up the other big fuel types for Latin America.

All of these Latin American power plants are featured in Industrial Info's newly released Latin America Power Generating Industry Wall Map - 1st Edition.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. IIR'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.