Led by Pipelines, West Virginia Sees $3.3 Billion in Projects Under Construction

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--West Virginia is going strong with its project activity, and Industrial Info is tracking nearly $3.3 billion worth of projects under construction in the state. Thanks to a large, much-publicized undertaking, the Pipeline Industry leads in terms of overall project value, followed in a distant second by the Power Industry.

Click on the image at right for a breakdown by industry of projects under construction in West Virginia.

By far the largest project under construction in the state is Equitrans Midstream Partners LP's (NYSE:ETRN) (Canonsburg, Pennsylvania) Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP), which will transport up to 2 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas 304 miles from northwestern West Virginia to southern Virginia. About 200 miles of this are in West Virginia. The project has seen opposition from the start, mostly regarding the use of eminent domain and environmental permitting. A further extension is planned to go into North Carolina, which also is facing headwinds and recently hit permitting problems in Virginia. The MVP was originally planned to be completed in 2018 at a cost of $3.5 billion. Equitrans has boosted the project's cost to $6.2 billion, with an anticipated startup next summer. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Pipeline Project Database can click here for related reports.

West Virginia is famous for its coal mining industry, and another large project underway in the state is Century Mining LLC's (Bridgeport, West Virginia) grassroot coal mine near Volga. Construction on the underground, longwall mine began last year and is expected to wrap up in mid-2023. At full operations, the mine will produce approximately 4 million tons per year and will include rail loadout facilities and a prep plant. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Metals & Minerals Project Database can click here for the project report.

Despite its heavy reliance on coal power, like other states West Virginia is implementing renewable energy projects. Among these is Clearway Energy Incorporated's (San Francisco, California) grassroot Black Rock Windfarm near New Creek. The facility will use 23 Siemens Gamesa turbines to generate about 110 megawatts. Construction has been underway for about a year and is in the process of wrapping up. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Power Project Database can click here for the project report.

In Institute, West Virginia, US Methanol LLC (Charleston, West Virginia) is reconstructing an idled methanol plant that was relocated from Brazil. In addition to production equipment such as a steam methane reformer and methanol synthesis unit, the facility will include eight storage tanks ranging in size from 75,000 to 1.2 million gallons as well as truck and barge loading areas. The work has been underway since 2017 and, after a construction delay caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, is now on track for completion in the first half of next year. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Chemical Processing Project Database can click here for the report.

While West Virginia doesn't have as strong a presence in the automotive sector as states in the Great Lakes or Southeast market regions, Toyota Motor Corporation (NYSE:TM) (Toyota City, Japan) is active in the state and is underway with upgrades to an engines and transmissions manufacturing plant in Buffalo, about 35 miles northwest of Charleston. The project entails performing equipment upgrades to an existing six-cylinder engine production line to increase Toyota's production capacity of four-cylinder engines by an additional 70,000 engines per year. The project kicked off last year and is expected to be completed in the summer of 2022. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Industrial Manufacturing Project Database can click here for the project report.

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.