North American Pulp and Paper Mills Adding 42 Steam Turbine Generators

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The Pulp and Paper Industry is the largest industrial producer of electricity, second only to the Power Industry. According to Industrial Info's Power Tracker, there currently are 600 generating units at pulp and paper mills in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico that produce just more than 9,900 megawatts (MW). In contrast, the Chemical Processing Industry, the third-largest industrial segment in terms of megawatt capacity, has 261 generating units with a combined capacity of a little more than 9,000 MW. Meanwhile, mill owners are developing plans to install an additional 42 new units over the next 36 months that will add 823 MW.

The industry's current portfolio of operational units is comprised primarily of steam turbine generators, which account for 88%, or 8,700 MW, from 379 units; hydraulic turbines that generate 333 MW, or 3%, from 177 units; and 43 combustion turbines that combine for approximately 900 MW. In recent years, mill owners have either, mothballed, removed or shuttered 250 units, and those units represent just less than 2,000 MW.

Today, more than half of the units in operation were installed prior to 1980. In the 1980s, mill owners added 124 units, and 65 units came online in the 1990s. Over 2000-10, the industry saw the startup of only 38 new units, and it saw 12 new units in the past two years.

In regard to turbine manufacturers, General Electric (NYSE:GE) (Fairfield, Connecticut) holds the lion share of the pulp and paper market with more than 285 units in place at pulp and paper mill sites.

Twenty-nine of the new units are scheduled to begin construction and installation before the end of the year. Plans call for 12 units to begin construction in 2013 and one unit in 2014.

Ten of the proposed new units are 25 MW and larger, with the largest being a 75-MW Mitsubishi condensing steam turbine that is scheduled to start-up at the end of 2013.

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.