North American Power Industry's Construction Starts Top Out at $5 Billion for Second-Quarter 2013, with Increase Projected

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Moving into the last month of the second quarter of 2013, Industrial Info has seen spending progress steadily throughout the North American Power Industry, with 48 projects moving forward. The Rocky Mountains, Midwest, Great Lakes and Southeast saw a total project investment value of about $5 billion going into June. For the remainder of the quarter, Industrial Info is tracking about 53 projects with a projected cost of about $8 billion, with the West Coast region leading the charge. These primarily have been transmission and distribution projects, in-plant capital projects and solar grassroot projects.

Click on the image at right for a graph detailing projected construction starts in the North American Power Industry in June 2013.

Looking forward to the third quarter of 2013, Industrial Info sees approximately 75 projects scheduled to kick-off construction that are worth about $6 billion to $7 billion in total. During this period, in-plant capital and transmission and distribution projects will be driving the market, with some solar and wind projects moving forward.

In-plant capital projects will consist of environmental emissions upgrade projects, decommissioning projects and system refurbishments. There are five dismantlement projects either under way or projected to begin during the remainder of the second quarter or early in the third quarter of 2013. Three of these facilities are owned by Progress Energy (Cary, North Carolina), a subsidiary of Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) (Charlotte, North Carolina). All three facilities--the Cape Fear, W.H. Weatherspoon and H.F. Lee coal-fired power stations--are located in North Carolina and total about 1,200 megawatts in coal-fired generation.

To replace the dismantled units, Industrial Info is tracking about 1,600 MW of natural gas-fired generation that is either under construction or scheduled to begin construction by the end of September 2013. The majority of this construction is focused in the West Coast region.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, and eight offices outside of North America, 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.