New England Set for Nearly $10 Billion in Project Kickoffs in 2015

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--New England is expected to see $9.82 billion in projects kick off in 2015, according to Industrial Info's database, driven in large part by the expanding role natural-gas and wind power, strong demand for public transportation, and a good environment for pharmaceutical-related projects. More than 90% of the total is attributed to three industries: Power, Pharmaceutical & Biotech, and Industrial Manufacturing.

Click on the image at right for a graph detailing planned 2015 project kickoffs in the New England region by industry.

The New England region includes Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont. For more on the Pharmaceutical & Biotech Industry's growing role in the region, see September 10, 2014, article - New England Takes $8.4 Billion Slice of Pharmaceutical-Biotech Capital/MRO Investment Pie.

The Power Industry alone makes up more than half of the region's 2015 TIV, with $5.54 billion in expected project kickoffs. One of the largest is Energy Management Incorporated's (Boston, Massachusetts) $450 million Pioneer Valley Energy Center in Westfield, Massachusetts. Westfield Land Development Company LLC, a subsidiary, plans to construct a natural gas-fired, combined-cycle facility that will include a 267-megawatt (MW) Mitsubishi M501G combustion turbine generator, with a duct-fired Nooter/Eriksen or Vogt heat-recovery steam generator (HRSG) that will drive a 164-MW MHI steam turbine generator set. It is expected to kick off in the fourth quarter.

The Pharmaceutical & Biotech Industry takes second place with $2.37 billion in projects, including $180 million in upgrades at Lonza Biologics Incorporated's facility in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The Swiss contract manufacturing organization's (CMO) overhaul is expected to improve manufacturing and testing facilities, including those for mammalian cell processing equipment. It is expected to kick off in the second quarter.

With a little more than $1 billion in projects set to begin construction in 2015, the Industrial Manufacturing Industry comes in third, with almost half of that value attributed to Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's (Boston) $449 million, fourth-phase extension of a commuter rail line in Canton, Massachusetts. The project, which saw its third phase kick off in the fourth quarter of 2014, involves adding 3.2 miles and four stations to the Green Line. It also will widen five bridges and improve retaining walls, noise walls, and utilities, drainage, traffic and pedestrian systems. It is expected to begin in the second quarter.

Among the other industries, the largest project is Beaver Wood Energy LLC's (Medway, Massachusetts) $175 million construction of a biomass power plant and fuel-pellet mill in Fair Haven, Vermont. The project involves installing a 29.5-MW steam turbine generator with a biomass-fired advanced stoker boiler, along with a 110,000 ton-per-year fuel pellet mill. It is expected to kick off in the second quarter.

More than 80% of the $9.82 billion total investment value for projects expected to kick off in the New England region in 2015--a little more than $8.16 billion--is attached to projects currently in the planning stages, where plenty of factors could increase, decrease or totally eliminate the expected spending. More than $1.44 billion worth of projects are in the engineering stages, while $213 million worth already are in the early construction stages.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, three 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.